GOP Senate hopeful Kari Lake is branded a fake and likened to a 'bazooka lacking aim' as Republicans turn on Trump supporting-candidate for flip-flopping on MAGA beliefs

Senate hopeful Kari Lake has been branded a fake and compared to a 'bazooka lacking aim' as Republicans turn on her for flip-flopping on her MAGA beliefs. 

Lake built a national persona as a prominent far-right figure aligned with former President Donald Trump and electrified the MAGA movement. 

In her campaign to clinch a Senate seat, Lake has been branded a fake by fellow Republicans after attempting to temper her political approach to gain the seat.

Some conservatives in the state have raised concerns about her authenticity and questioned her ability to win in November. 

Speaking to the New York Times, Dan Farley, president of the Arizona Tea Party, said, 'She’s a powerful force but kind of like a bazooka lacking aim. She’s blowing up her own garage instead of enemies in the driveway.'

Pictured: Lake addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual meeting in National Harbor, Maryland, on February 24

Dan Farley, president of the Arizona Tea Party, is seen on the right with Lake's opponent Sheriff Mark Lamb

Farley added, 'Kari Lake is making a lot of rookie mistakes, and you just don’t know what you’re going to get with her or where she’s going to land.'

He has since backed her primary opponent Sheriff Mark Lamb in the race for the seat currently held by Senator Kyrsten Sinema. 

Jeff Fleetham, an Arizona Republican who was a Trump delegate, backed Lake two years ago but said he would not vote if she wins the party nomination. 

He told the New York Times, 'She seems to just want the limelight. She can’t be trusted in anything she says or does.'

Representative Matt Salmon, who ran against her in 2022, also said, 'There’s nothing authentic about her. 

'She touts her endorsements, but two years ago she would have criticized anyone with those same endorsements and declared them swamp creatures.'

Republicans are eager to win back the seat that was won by Sinema in 2018 as a Democrat, with Trump backing Lake's campaign as well as party leaders.

A recent poll from last month said that 27 percent of Republicans had a negative view of Lake. 

That was more than double the share of Democrats who said the same about the Democratic frontrunner Ruben Gallego.

Republicans are eager to win back the seat that was won by Sinema in 2018 as a Democrat, with Trump backing Lake's campaign as well as party leaders

A 'Kari Lake for Senate' poster is put up on the door at a watch party organized by her campaign at Foley Ranch Country Bar in Phoenix, Arizona on March 19

Amongst all Arizona voters, 49 percent had a negative opinion about Lake - compared to 40 percent who had a positive view of her. 

In her first three months, she managed to raise $2.3 million - which is one of the strongest showings for any Republican. 

Lake said in an interview, 'I’m meeting with people everyday who have not been Trumpers. 

'I sit down with them, and I’m not changing who I am. I’m saying, ‘Look, we agree on this, this and this.' 

Lake, a former television news anchor at a Fox network station in Phoenix, ran in 2022 for Arizona governor, losing to Democrat Katie Hobbs. 

She was lauded as a charismatic presence on the campaign trail, but was one of several candidates closely aligned with Trump who flopped at the ballot box.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced Thursday he would support Kari Lake's bid for Senate

'When I'm back in the White House, I need strong fighters like Kari in the Senate,' Trump said during a recorded message

Senator Ted Cruz announced on Thursday that he would throw his support behind Lake in the race.

'Kari has proven that she will always prioritize the security and well-being of Arizonans and the American people and will not back down from a fight,' Cruz said in a statement shared exclusively with DailyMail.com. 

With Cruz's endorsement, Lake adds to her star-studded list of Senate supporters.

Lake also has the endorsements of Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Steve Daines, R-Mont., John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.

Lake has also received an endorsement from former President Trump, who she fiercely defended amid his claiming that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

He repeatedly noted how anomalies in Arizona's electoral process kept him out of office for a second consecutive term, and Lake agreed.

Her support of the former president did not come for free, however, as it may have played a part in her narrowly losing the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race to Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs.

In January, DailyMail.com revealed that Jeff DeWit, the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party, allegedly offered to bribe Lake to stay out of the 2024 Senate race, saying ominously, 'There are very powerful people who want to keep you out.' 

DeWit continued: 'So the ask I got today from back east was: 'Is there any companies out there or something that could just put her on the payroll to keep her out?'' 

Lake shot back, 'This is about defeating Trump and I think that's a bad, bad thing for our country.'

Just about a day after DailyMail.com's report was published, DeWit resigned from the Arizona GOP.