Failed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake—currently vying for a seat in the Senate—was dragged after having some issues with the correct abbreviation for in vitro fertilization (IVF) while debating her Democratic challenger, Representative Ruben Gallego, on Wednesday.
Lake made the flub during a discussion about abortion after Gallego pointed out her previous support for abortion bans, including Arizona’s 100-year-old law that had no exceptions for rape or incest.
Since then, Lake has reversed her stance as she seeks a Senate seat, following the trend of many Republicans across the country.
In response to Gallego, Lake said:
“I come from a large family ― I’m the youngest of nine ― and I know a lot about women. I’m a daughter myself, and I want to make sure we have the choice of what our abortion law is in the state of Arizona."
And then came her bizarre invocation of "UVF" three whole times:
“I want to make sure UVF is protected. I have many friends who are here, they’re my friends today because of UVF. And I have many of my friends who have had children and experienced the joy of motherhood and parenthood because of UVF.”
You can hear her hilarious gaffe in the video below.
Lake was widely mocked.
Lake, who trails Gallego in every poll, was criticized last week after she falsely suggested Gallego is not serious about confronting cartels and that he will not work to secure the border in Arizona.
Lake claimed that Gallego "was controlled by the cartels" and that "his father was a Colombian drag trafficker." Lake's words were intended to connect Gallego to Colombia's drug trade, one of the most expansive in the world and responsible for a long history of violence and political confict. Gallego is Mexican on his father's side and Colombian on his mother's side, so to say this is a racist dog whistle is an understatement.
Lake's attacks aren't working, however. In September, 11 polls of likely Arizona voters showed Gallego ahead in all of them by margins between 4 and 14 points. Overall, he has led in 45 out of 48 polls conducted since Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat who became an Independent, announced she would not seek reelection.
