CNN
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Democrat Katie Hobbs will win Arizona gubernatorial race, CNN projectdefeat one of the most prominent defenders of of former President Donald Trump lied about the 2020 election.
Calling the 2020 election a fraud, Republican Kari Lake has repeatedly said she will not certify Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona in 2020. Hobbs, as Arizona’s secretary of state, has denied drop the GOP lies about the election.
Lake’s failure followed ‘s failure two other famous voter rejecters in the state – Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters and secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem.
“Democracy worth the wait,” Hobbs tweeted after the race was called Monday night. “Thanks, Arizona. I am honored and proud to be your next Governor. ”
Lake did not recognize Hobbs’ win, instead tweeting, “The people of Arizona know BS when they see it.”
Republican candidate has start to sow doubt about the 2022 results. In an appearance on Fox News on Monday before the race was to begin, Lake baselessly called the election “unsuccessful.”
“I don’t believe the people of Arizona will vote for her and she will win. But if that’s what happens at the end of the day, how can you certify an election that has failed this? ‘ said Lake.
During an appearance on right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s talk show on Thursday, she said, “I hate the fact that they’re slow, dragging, and procrastinating the inevitable. They didn’t want to tell the truth, that’s we won.”
There is no evidence that election officials delayed reporting the results. At a press conference Thursday, Bill Gates, Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, made Lake’s comments. “It’s insulting to Kari Lake to say that the people behind me slow this down when they’re working between 14 and 18,” said Gates, a Republican, gesturing to employees. electorate, who participated in the tally of the ballots behind him. through a glass window.
Lake went on to raise questions about the voting tabulation and Hobbs’ eventual role in confirming the vote as secretary of state hours before the race was scheduled for Hobbs. “Electoral officials should not be impartial,” Lake tweeted, referring to the office Hobbs holds. “The people who run the Election have made it their mission to defeat America’s First Republican Party. Unbelievable.”
Arizona Assistant Secretary of State Allie Bones rejected Lake’s suggestion that Hobbs step down from overseeing the election. In an interview with CNN on Monday night, she noted that Arizona elections are “highly decentralized” and that “counties are responsible for running the election and tabulating the votes.”
When asked by CNN’s John King about the Arizona secretary of state’s exact role in confirming the election, Bones said the process has been going the same way for years: all 15 counties will report the results. their office to the secretary of state, then to the secretary. The office aggregates those results and brings them together statewide. At that point, “the secretary will sign it,” Bones said, but the governor, attorney general and chief justice of the state Supreme Court will also sign off on those final results.
Lake, a former news officer at Fox 10 in Phoenix, has quickly become one of the most prominent Republicans of the 2022 cycle as she and Hobbs vie for the seat of term Republican governor Doug Ducey . The outgoing governor endorsed Lake’s main rival, but later backed Lake in the general election.
Hobbs, a former social worker who worked with victims of domestic violence before becoming a state legislator, ran a much more discreet and gentle campaign restricting access to with reporters and organize small, intimate events with supporters. She makes democracy and abortion rights her focus, describing Lake as an “extremist” and “dangerous” figure who could jeopardize the sanctity of the 2024 presidential election. by refusing to certify the results.
She had help in this later effort from GOP Representative Liz Cheney, whose political action committee $500,000 behind an advertisement urged Arizona voters to reject Lake and Finchem. Lake later posted a sarcastic letter on Twitter thanking Cheney for her “in-kind donation” – claiming that the ad did indeed help her campaign. On Monday night when the race was called for Hobbs, Cheney responded to Lake’s October 28 tweet with a simple retort: ”There’s no question.”
Barrett Marson, an Arizona Republican consultant who worked for Masters in the Senate primaries, spoke of the wisdom of following Trump on Monday night. “It’s over. The only thing Kari Lake should be doing right now is accepting defeat. This election tells us one thing: following Trump over the cliff will not win the election.”
Lake has stuck to Trump’s playbook not just about the 2020 election. She promised to declare an “invasion” on the border – in what she describes as an attempt to amass great power. for the governor’s office to deal with the migrant crisis – and she called for the arrests of both Dr. Anthony Fauci and her Democratic opponent.
Before announcing her bid, Lake left her anchor job in 2021 – saying she didn’t like the direction of journalism – after becoming a household name in Phoenix. In one of her campaign videos, she says she’s using a sledgehammer for “leftist lies and propaganda,” as she destroys the television with her high heel tool. .
She slams her main opponents with strong denunciations of Democratic Party leaders’ handling of the Covid-19 pandemic – arguing that restrictions like wearing face masks are unnecessary and harmful to children. She welcomed comparisons to Trump throughout the run-up to the campaign – declaring at an event that she was happy when an admirer called her “Trump in a dress”.
Lake dismissed Hobbs as a coward after Hobbs refused to argue his opponent this fall. Hobbs’ campaign argues that an argument with Lake “will only lead to constant disruption, pointless distraction and childish naming.”
Hobbs noted in an interview with CNN that Lake has repeatedly called for her arrest and said her rhetoric has led to “threats of violence and harassment against me.” Lake, in turn, described her opponent’s response as a weakness, arguing that if Hobbs didn’t agree to argue with her, “she couldn’t fight the cartel.”
This story has been updated with additional developments.
