Republican Kari Lake waves to supporters as she announces her plans to run for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat during a rally, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

On Friday, Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is set to appear in Lubbock, Texas, a town that has passed some of the most stringent anti-abortion laws in both the state and country.

Lake will be hosted by the Lubbock Area Republican Women, a far-right organization whose president says that, “Abortion is murder, plain and simple.” The “Pink Elephant” fundraising event sells a table for eight at $2,000 each.

Lake’s appearance in Lubbock specifically is in direct contrast to her recent remarks on the abortion issue. After notably putting abortion on the forefront of her unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022 and calling the procedure “the ultimate sin,” Lake has been toning down her efforts. Her website says that she now opposes a federal abortion ban, and that it is an issue for states to decide.

But in addition to outlawing abortion within the city limits, Lubbock County also passed an ordinance to bar pregnant women and people from traveling across the county line to receive an abortion in another state.

Lake’s change of heart is likely due to Republicans losing on abortion virtually every time it has been on the ballot, even in GOP-controlled states like Kansas, Ohio and Kentucky. Republicans saw heavy national losses in the 2022 midterms, especially from far-right candidates like Lake who took hard stances against abortion and other issues like election denial.

Lake lost the gubernatorial general election to now-Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) in 2022 by a thin margin of 17,117 votes. Similar to her close ally former President Donald Trump, Lake refused to concede her loss and fought to overturn the election results by filing a 70-page lawsuit against Arizona election officials. Her claims eventually reached the state Supreme Court, which refused to hear most of Lake’s cases and reaffirmed Hobbs’ win.

Lake is now seeking the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party in 2022 and registered as an independent. Simena’s decision came after she, alongside Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), opposed Democrats on several pieces of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act such as raising the minimum wage, filibuster reform and prescription drug price reduction. U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D) is the frontrunner on the Democratic side to take on Lake. Sinema has not officially announced her reelection bid.