GOP Senate hopefuls once dismissed as ‘fringe’ by elites are now in positions to win.
Republican outsiders written off by their own party leadership and considered easy pickings by Democrats have defied the odds to make their races highly competitive, with some now tipped to win.
Democrats were so confident that some of these candidates labeled "far-right" or "fringe" by the media wouldn't win that Democrat campaigns and outside groups actually funneled money to them, thinking they'd be easier opponents in a general election than Republican primary hopefuls deemed more moderate or part of the GOP establishment.
Did they also fund Lake in AZ?
I haven't found any info about direct money funneling, but the Democrats did intervene just before the primary vote by reminding everyone that Lake's opponent had previously donated to Democratic candidates.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/trump-backed-kari-lake-gets-hand-unlikely-source-arizona-democrats-rcna38084
Edit - National Review piece highlighting the ad says the Dems didn't fund Lake, but they add more details and context to that story. Lake was also a former Democrat, but the party didn't mention that part. https://archive.ph/aZEbt