Arizona gubernatorial hopeful Kari Lake is issuing her first reaction to her projected loss.
In a tweet shortly after several outlets began to call the race for her Democratic opponent, Katie Hobbs, on Monday night, Lake tweeted, “Arizonans know BS when they see it.”
Arizonans know BS when they see it.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 15, 2022
As of Tuesday morning, she was trailing Hobbs by roughly 20,000 votes
Her response to the projected outcome is unfortunately not surprising.
Lake rose to prominence in large part because of her decision to embrace former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claim that widespread fraud in the 2020 election tilted the results.
She called the United States’ election system “rotten to the core” and during a debate in June claimed President Joe Biden “lost the election and he shouldn’t be in the White House.”
And in October, she refused to say whether she would accept the results if she lost.
“I’m going to win the election and I’m going to accept that results,” Lake told CNN’s Dana Bash.
It is worth noting that there has been no evidence the 2020 election was stolen. And so far there is no evidence the Arizona gubernatorial election was stolen either.
And also it is worth noting that while Lake lost, two key House races were called for the Republican candidates on Monday.
In Arizona’s 1st District, Rep. David Schweikert (R) edged out Jevin Hodge (D). And in Arizona’s open 6th District, Juan Ciscomani (R) beat out Kirsten Engel (D).
Those two races were crucial to putting Republicans on the path to taking control of the House. As of Tuesday morning, Republicans were projected to win 217 seats — just one shy of a majority — with 14 races still not called. In order for Democrats to keep the House, they would need to win every remaining House race which Politico notes is “a near-impossible task.”
The Arizona gubernatorial race is important. But if there was fraud in the state, why would those allegedly manipulating the results let Republicans win those House races in Arizona?
Without control of the House, Biden’s agenda is likely going to be stalled for at least the next to years.
Instead of fraud, it appears Lake was the wrong candidate for Arizona. She lost in an election where candidates across the country who adopted Trump’s fraud claims struggled and many lost.
And it probably did not help that Lake was her own campaign manager. Rather than trying to moderate and appeal to a larger group of voters, she stuck by her fraud claims and told “McCain Republicans” to “get the hell out” of one event — not really a winning strategy in Arizona.
One close election loss may not be the end for her. But if she refuses to concede and claims her election was stolen, in a year when voters clearly said they were done with Trump’s claims, that’s not going to help her.
Lake was seen as potentially a future leader of the party. But by contrast with Trump, who won in 2016, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who won twice running for governor, she has not won. It’s hard to see why Republicans would want to elevate someone who can’t prove they can win but might prove to be a sore loser.
Republicans may be disappointed to see a Democrat in Arizona’s governor’s mansion and two Democratic senators in the state — the first time that has happened since 1950. But for the sake of protecting trust in our election process, it is better that those who attacked the system were not rewarded with election victories.
