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Former President Ronald Reagan once famously said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.”
For an increasing number of people, that quote is ringing true like never before as the Democrat Party continues with its extreme leftward shift. But for those patriotic political refugees who have been left feeling isolated and unsure of where they might find a new home, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said she thinks she has the answer.
“I think it’s America First,” the former news anchor said Tuesday while discussing former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard’s recent decision to leave the Democrat Party.
Gabbard, who joined Lake for a campaign rally in Chandler, Arizona, said she had originally joined the Democrats because she felt “inspired by a party that said, ‘We respect your individual freedoms, civil liberties, and a government of, by, and for the people.’”
However, when Gabbard lamented that such a party “no longer exists today,” Lake noted that America First Republicans hold those same principles and ideals.
“I’m a true believer that if … Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, if JFK were alive today, if our Founding Fathers were alive today, they would be America First Republicans,” the Trump endorsee said. “I really believe that.”
Having once been a Democrat herself, Lake added that there is “no shame” in having once supported the Democrat Party.
“I don’t judge you if you’re walking away from the Democrat Party – if you’re an independent who maybe voted for Biden,” she said. “We are not judging you. We are ready to bring you over.”
She continued: “If you want freedom; if you want no more masks; if you want no forced vaccines; if you want to make sure your kids aren’t getting their hands on the most deadly drug we’ve ever seen, fentanyl; if you want your kids to be properly educated; we welcome you into the party of common sense. You are welcome into the Republican Party – the New Republican Party.”
In August, when Lake emerged victorious as Arizona’s Republican nominee for governor, she defined the “New Republican Party” as “the party of ‘We the People,’” stating that the only precursor for membership was a love of the United States.
“We welcome anyone in who is tired of these failed policies of the Democrats,” she noted. “We welcome them into this party.”
In closing Tuesday’s event, Lake encouraged her supporters to reach out to their Democrat neighbors and start a conversation.
“They might be watching their savings dry up that they saved for retirement,” she noted. “They might be watching that their paycheck just doesn’t make ends meet anymore, and they’re really worried about being able to afford this economy any longer. So, I’m asking all of you to talk to…the friends that you might not even want to talk politics with because they might be open to it now.”
Also urging supporters to vote like their “lives depend on it,” Lake gave an encouraging message: “God is with us. God put us here at this time for this very reason – to save the great State 48!”