A former aide to Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema has alleged that Senate candidate Ruben Gallego "hates" Kari Lake and "wants her to die."  The claims were made in an undercover investigation by James O’Keefe’s O’Keefe Media Group (OMG).

The comments were made by Ben Rappaport, who at the time of the investigation was the Defensive Legislative Correspondent for Sinema. Rappaport, speaking to an undercover OMG journalist posing as a date, said that Gallego is his “favorite politician,” but noted deep tensions between Gallego and Sinema. These tensions stem from many on the left, including Gallego, believing Sinema has not been as liberal as they previously desired. 

Rappaport went on to say that Gallego "hates a lot" of conservatives and specifically "hates" Lake, whom he believes is a "raving lunatic" and a "threat to democracy." Rappaport claimed that Gallego “wants her to die” and that “if she died… he wouldn’t go to the funeral.”

Kari Lake reacted to the allegations with concern, citing Gallego’s purported family ties to Mexican drug cartels and past allegations of harassment as reasons to take the claims seriously. 

“Given Ruben Gallego’s family ties to the Mexican drug cartels and his history of hostility toward women including harassment complaints – this claim that Gallego wants me dead is extremely concerning. I hope that law enforcement treats this seriously and will investigate this threat for the sake of me and my family’s safety,” Lake said in a statement.

The former aide also suggested that Sinema might be positioning herself for a future role as president of Arizona State University (ASU), claiming there was an “unwritten rule” within her office prioritizing ASU’s requests. Rappaport theorized that Sinema's actions, which could favor ASU, might bolster her chances for the position. When pressed by the undercover journalist, he suggested that while she hadn’t explicitly accepted a job offer, it remained a potential ambition.

“This is just my theory, that she wants to be the next president of ASU,” Rappaport claimed. 

Rappaport pointed to ASU’s recent selection to lead a national consortium supporting the Department of Defense’s Irregular Warfare Center as an example of Sinema allegedly aiding the university. He claimed her team helped formulate requirements in a way that positioned ASU as the prime candidate.

In response, ASU issued a statement deflecting questions about presidential appointments to the Arizona Board of Regents, without directly denying Rappaport's claims.