Trump acolyte Kari Lake to launch Senate campaign in challenge to Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona

• Kari Lake, the Donald Trump acolyte who unsuccessfully ran for Arizona governor in 2022, will launch a candidacy for the U.S. Senate on Oct. 10.
• Lake will seek the seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who was elected as a Democrat but later dropped that affiliation to become an Independent.
• Democrats hold a majority in the Senate by a single vote.
• Rep. Ruben Gallego is expected to be the Democratic nominee for the race.

Arizona republican candidate for governor Kari Lake greets the audience during a stop on the Truth and Courage PAC's Take Back America Bus Tour with Sen. Ted Cruz ahead of the midterm elections, at San Tan Flat in Queen Creek, Arizona, on Oct. 5, 2022.

Rebecca Noble | Reuters

Kari Lake, the Donald Trump acolyte who unsuccessfully ran for Arizona governor in 2022, will launch a candidacy for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate on Oct. 10.

The Arizona contest, in which Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is expected to seek reelection, could determine by a three-way race which party controls the Senate.

Lake, who narrowly lost the governor's contest, like Trump continues to deny her defeat was legitimate.

The Wall Street Journal first reported Lake's plan to announce her bid for the nomination. A source close to her later confirmed that plan to NBC News.

Democrats currently hold a majority in the Senate by a margin of just one vote, thanks to three Independents who caucus with them.

Sinema is one of those Independents, having dropped her affiliation as a Democrat in December.

Rep. Ruben Gallego is the likely Democratic nominee for Sinema's seat.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March, Lake said, "I'm not just the most dangerous politician in America — I'm the most dangerous politician in the world because we are not going to let these people win."