Kari Lake makes home purchase that potentially foreshadows run for office in new state

Former news anchor Kari Lake ran unsuccessfully for statewide office multiple times in Arizona, pushing election conspiracy theories and fruitlessly suing to overturn the results, before being tapped by President Donald Trump to head up, and largely dismantle, the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

Now, she just made a big financial move that could signal she's planning to run for office again — but not in Arizona.

According to MS NOW, Lake "recently purchased a $60,000 condo in her home community of eastern Iowa," and "Official property records from Scott County, Iowa, show the November sale of the two-bedroom condominium in a brick apartment building in Davenport to a family trust controlled by Lake."

Lake is not a stranger to Iowa. She was born in the Quad Cities area, albeit on the Illinois side, then went to high school in Davenport near the site of her new condo purchase, and studied at the University of Iowa.

She has also gotten increasingly involved in Republican politics in Iowa, said the report: "In early 2025 ... Lake planned a political visit to the greater Des Moines area. A source familiar with her political interests said at the time that Lake had not ruled out a primary challenge to [Sen. Joni] Ernst," who went on to announce she wasn't seeking re-election after angering some Trump loyalists and making national news for a massive gaffe on health care policy.

According to MS NOW, Lake "also held multiple political rallies in 2023 in Iowa, promoting unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud."

Per the report, speculation swirls that Lake may be planning a campaign to succeed Iowa's other senator, Chuck Grassley, who has served in the Senate for 45 years and is now 92 years old. He has not yet confirmed plans to retire.

Iowa used to be widely competitive for both parties, and holds the distinction of being the only U.S. state to have voted for at least one losing presidential candidate of both parties in the last 30 years. Former President Barack Obama carried the state twice on a message of breaking up agricultural monopolies. In recent years, Republicans have carried almost every statewide election there, but Iowa Democrats hope to mount a more competitive campaign in 2026 as Trump's tariffs have crushed the region.