Kari Lake’s campaign has a U-turn problem. 

Northeast Valley News spoke to Arizonans about Lake’s senate campaign platform with regard to abortion and most voters had no idea what Lake is saying now— but what was clear in the minds of the Arizonans approached on Sunday is Lake’s very cemented anti-abortion stance during her gubernatorial campaign two years ago. 

When asked if they trusted Kari Lake to protect women’s reproductive rights— the resounding response was “no.” 

“There’s no way a pro-abortion rights voter could ever trust Kari Lake to protect women’s reproductive choices,” said Emily Swanter a pro-abortion voter, as she cheered to other supporters at a small gathering in central Phoenix on Sunday, “Vote Yes on Prop. 139!” 

Lake’s forceful anti-abortion pledges during her gubernatorial campaign speeches are apparently not forgotten. 

Ms. Lake once promised that Arizona would be the “sanctuary state” for the unborn— and her proclamation that abortion was the ultimate sin made her among the most stringent anti-abortion candidates on record. Lake also endorsed a federal ban on abortion.

But fast forward to her current senate campaign strategy and an apparent about face from her campaign leaves many Arizona voters questioning whether or not Lake can be trusted on any campaign promise. 

Arizona abortion rights activists and supporters say they aren’t fooled by Lake. 

“Ms. Lake, the supreme Trump loyalist, is more than aware that the former president has bragged about his power over the Supreme Court and taking credit for overturning Roe v Wade and she will be first in line to vote for a federal ban if he is elected.”

Lake blames Democrats for messed up messaging and a shaky GOP abortion platform.

“Republicans allowed Democrats to define them on abortion,” Ms. Lake said in a statement to The New York Times.

But it was Lake who said during a primary gubernatorial debate she supported and would enforce, if elected, the pre-Roe ban on abortion which would prohibit the procedure in nearly all cases and would criminalize doctors who perform it.

Arizona abortion rights activists are intent on getting Lake’s true stance on abortion out to Arizona voters reminding them that it was Trump’s Supreme Court was responsible for overturning Roe v Wade.

“We are here, a month before the election in the heat with signs but refreshing the minds of our majority pro-abortion rights country of the person most responsible for stripping women of their basic healthcare decisions—it’s Donald Trump,” said Arizona abortion rights activist, Tammy Boyd.

“Trump ushered in the ability to legislate archaic laws that include criminalization of women in the state-by- state battle on abortion access and protections and many MAGA/GOP legislators are continually drawing up barbaric “laws” to put in place once they witnessed a wide-open door with Trump’s Supreme Court.” 

“Republicans are doing this—not Democrats,” Boyd said.

Abortion activists told Northeast Valley News over the weekend, they’re all in for the fight in the days moving toward Nov. 5 and that even conservative states have broken with harsh abortion rulings and are standing with them and taking back the right for women to control their personal healthcare choices.

“There’s no more going backward.”

Groups like Boyd’s are aggressively working to make certain that abortion access through Prop. 139 is not only available in Arizona, but they are intent in making Arizona one of the most progressive states on abortion access with a “front line” of legal advocacy for women who are denied access.

“We won’t be Texas,” Boyd said.

Serena Martinez, a colleague of Boyd’s told Northeast Valley News, “We are not fooled by Kari Lake’s supposed reversal on abortion— it’s her desperate campaign strategy and

we don’t believe anything she says. We will work tirelessly to keep Lake out of the Senate.”