Kari Lake as Trump's No. 2? This is the best idea for Arizona

Fresh off Kari Lake’s triumphant weekend at CPAC – wherein she called Steve Bannon a “modern-day George Washington” – Arizona’s not-quite-favorite daughter soon may be on to bigger and better things.

Axios is reporting that Lake is on Donald Trump’s short list of women to serve as his running mate next year.

“Former President Trump is strongly considering picking a female running mate – and sees Kari Lake as a model for his vice-presidential pick, according to people who discussed the topic with him,” reports Axios’ Mike Allen.

Yes, please.

Kari Lake has become a masterful politician

Give Lake credit.

The newscaster who spent two decades reading a teleprompter has turned out to be a masterful politician. She jumped into the governor’s race with a sledgehammer and bellyful of anger and proceeded to rage her way right to the top of the Republican ticket.

Oh, I know, she lost. And just as Trump doesn’t like people who get captured, he doesn’t like losers. (Apparently, they don’t have mirrors at Mar-a-Lago.)

At CPAC:Kari Lake insults Dems, holds to election denialism

But let’s just be honest here: the number of winners in his circle has become exceedingly slim given last year’s midterm election.

Others on Trump’s reported short list: Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who in February launched her own presidential campaign.

She's basically Donald Trump in high heels

Here in Arizona, we know that Kari Lake would be the ideal vice presidential pick for the MAGA ticket. She checks all the right boxes:

• Embrace conspiracy theories about election fraud in 2020? Check.

• Embrace conspiracy theories about election fraud in 2022? Check.

• Attack the media? John McCain? The FBI? Check. Check. Check.

• Rail about a border “invasion” and a stolen election and masks and a stolen election and liberals and a stolen election and the media and oh yeah, not one but two supposedly stolen elections.

That’s gold right there. In certain dwindling circles, at least.

Lake is basically Trump in high heels, a camera-ready rage machine who could offer a shot of adrenaline to his flagging MAGA movement.

The one downside to Lake is the fact that Trump reportedly wants a female running mate who can help him win back women in the suburbs – the ones who helped Gov. Katie Hobbs become Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Still, there is no one better suited to continue and amplify Trump’s campaign of grievance than Arizona’s reigning MAGA queen. No one more loyal to Trump. Who else but Kari Lake would kiss his … portrait?

Even moderates want her to be Trump's VP

Over the weekend, Lake won a CPAC vice presidential straw poll. Sadly, she demurred even as she blasted the poll results out on social media.

“BREAKING: Out of 30 contenders, @KariLake wins @CPAC straw poll for Vice President. We’re flattered, but unfortunately our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time,” her “war room” tweeted on Saturday.

So says the woman who is not governor – the one who is now “entertaining” a run for the U.S. Senate next year.

Count traditional Republicans in Arizona – the ones hoping the party can actually win something next year – as not even lightly entertained at the notion of Lake as their nominee.

Having already lost two Senate seats and all of the big statewide offices by putting up extremists, regular Republicans are ready to move on.

It’s said that Arizona did a lot to put Donald Trump on the political map during his first presidential campaign, drawing literally thousands of his faithful followers to one of his early 2015 rallies, just a few weeks after he announced he was running for president.

Now he can return the favor to the Grand Canyon State.

Take Kari Lake. Please.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake as Trump's vice president would be great for Arizona