Scoop: Kari Lake plans $10M ad blitz in Arizona Senate race

• Lake's campaign plans to reserve $10 million in ads for the fall, a source familiar with the plans told Axios.
• That spending will start with a statewide $675,000 ad buy for May, which will focus on immigration and the southern border.
• The ad will run on cable, broadcast and digital in Arizona.

Between the lines: The focus on immigration in the first ad reflects the Lake campaign's strategy to keep the border as a top issue in the election.

• The Lake team sees the border as a vulnerability for Gallego, who has taken a harsher stance on immigration over the past year.
• But the Gallego campaign has already been up with millions in advertising, much of it focused around Lake's past support for an abortion ban in the state.
• The Gallego campaign placed a $19 million ad buy, an eye-popping number for a Senate candidate.

State of play: Gallego has opened the campaign with a fundraising advantage over Lake.

• The race is rated as a toss-up by Cook Political Report.
• Arizona will also be a critical battleground in the presidential race.

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