Guiding the news: The former Fox 10 anchor took the race by storm last year, quickly becoming a front-runner with a style and message that closely mimicked former President Trump.

Lake’s campaign has been characterized by her combative style, anti-establishment rhetoric and unwavering support for Trump’s false claims that the 2020 election was rigged against him.

Flashback: Lake declared victory Wednesday with about 186,000 votes counted in the primary. The battle between Lake and Robson has become a proxy war between Trump and the establishment wing of the GOP. Between the lines: Despite spending more than $20 million on her campaign, most of it self-financed, Robson was never able to overcome Lake’s advantage.

The developer and former regent gained momentum late in the race with a huge, sustained TV ad. Robson has also waged a relentless attack campaign against Lake, bashing her for contributing to Barack Obama in 2008, questioning her conservative credentials and dubbing her “Fake Lake”. Almost every poll of the race ever released showed Lake leading, and despite her financial advantage she was never able to overcome that lead.

The intrigue: Lake and Ducey will now have to bury the hatchet as they spin in the general election.

Ducey is the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which has already reserved about $10.6 million in airtime for the general election. Lake has been harshly critical of Ducey over his response to COVID-19 and other issues. However, Ducey’s job as RGA chairman is to win gubernatorial races for the GOP, and it would reflect badly on him if the Democrats won the race in his own state.

What’s next: Lake will likely face Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the general election. Many Democrats saw Lake as the easiest opponent for Hobbs. Yes, but: This is still Arizona, which, despite Democratic gains in past elections, is still a predominantly red state, and this is still expected to be a Republican year. Worth noting: Hobbs, who has served as Arizona’s top election official since 2019, gained national exposure after the 2020 election by fighting the same false allegations of voter fraud that Lake has spent the past year spreading.