Kari Lake surges ahead in Arizona polls with days to go before the election

It comes after the Republican candidate engaged in a heated exchange with CNN on Monday, refusing to admit she lost the 2022 governor’s race, despite being defeated by more than 17,000 votes.

Asked whether she lost in 2022, Ms Lake said: “Why are we looking backwards? I’m looking forward to it.”

Pressed on the matter, she hit out at the media, who she said “can’t get over it. You say I can’t get over it and it looks like you can’t”.

“I actually think you wanted to ask me about the issues people were concerned about,” she added, before trying to switch tracks to focus on immigration — a key Republican issue in the border state.

Many senior GOP donors have expressed doubts about Ms Lake’s chances on November 5, citing her feuds with other Republicans, including the family of the late Arizona senator John McCain, and her refusal to accept past election results.