Arizona’s Kari Lake, Mimicking Her Mentor, Refuses To Leave Political Stage

With Kari Lake’s court case running aground and the GOP openly questioning its relationship with President Trump’s wing of the party, the failed candidate and former TV news host would appear to be left hanging in the wind.Judging from her words and deeds of late, though, Ms. Lake does not seem inclined to fade away quietly. In the 2022 midterms, Ms. Lake carried the banner for Republicans who rejected the 2020 election results. At one point, she was christened an up-and-coming star of the GOP’s MAGA fringe — even as a potential successor to her mentor. Following her loss in the Arizona gubernatorial race by 0.6 points, she remained true to form and rejected those election results as well.In early December, Ms. Lake and her campaign filed a lawsuit against the current secretary of state and governor-elect of Arizona, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, as well as election officials in Maricopa County.The lawsuit, brought in Maricopa County Superior Court, claimed that “hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election” and asked the court to declare her the winner of the election or to toss the results from Maricopa County and arrange for a new election.At the time, Ms. Hobbs dismissed the suit, saying that “Kari Lake needs attention like a fish needs water.” Ms Hobb’s campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, called it a “nuisance.”On Christmas Eve, Judge Peter Thompson ruled that there wasn’t clear or convincing evidence to support Ms. Lake’s claim or to call Ms. Hobbs’s victory into question. “Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct. The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence,” Judge Thompson wrote.He ordered Ms. Lake to pay Ms. Hobbs’s legal fees of $33,040.55, but stopped short of agreeing with Ms. Hobbs’s team that the allegations were made “in bad faith.”Ms. Lake has already appealed the decision to Arizona’s supreme court.For most failed candidates who have never held elected office, that would be the end of the line. For those paying attention to Ms. Lake, though, it’s apparent that she has no interest in going quietly into the night.She has been making the rounds on Trump-aligned media outlets such as Steve Bannon’s “War Room,” and using Twitter to call on her followers to “ensure that America does not become a Memory.”Ms. Lake also has not stopped calling the election fraudulent, and insisted in a December 25 post on President Trump’s social media outlet, Truth Social: “My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law.”“This Judge did not rule in our favor,” Ms. Lake added. “However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.”While she fights in court and insists that the election in Arizona was “bogus,” Ms. Lake also continues to fundraise through her WinRed-associated Save Arizona fund. Donations to the fund go to a company called Save Arizona Fund Inc., a domestic nonprofit corporation, according to the Arizona Corporation Commission.Ms. Lake says the company’s purpose is to help her take the case to the Supreme Court. The corporation, which was organized on December 5, is not associated with Ms. Lake’s gubernatorial campaign and is not subject to the spending or fundraising rules that apply to campaign committees.People has reported that Ms. Lake is angling to be Mr. Trump’s vice presidential pick after a recent trip she made to Mar-a-Lago. “I believe she wants to be his running mate,” a source close to Ms. Lake told People. “She is working the deal. She wants something bigger — fast — to compensate for her loss in Arizona.”Mr. Trump, who endorsed Ms. Lake for governor of Arizona, has called the 2022 gubernatorial election a “criminal voting operation” and said that “Kari Lake should be installed Governor of Arizona” in his own social media posts.Also on the horizon and within her reach is the upcoming 2024 Arizona election for the seat currently held by Senator Sinema, who recently left the Democratic Party to become an independent.Ms. Lake has not announced that she will run for Senate, but early polls suggest she could be competitive despite her recent run of bad luck.A December 22 Public Policy Polling survey found that Ms. Lake would beat Ms. Sinema in a head-to-head matchup 42 percent to 39 percent but would lose to Congressman Ruben Gallego, a Democrat who is considering a Senate bid.In a three-way matchup, Ms. Lake would be the slight favorite, according to the poll. All results were within the poll’s 3.8 percent margin of error.Finally, there is the possibility Ms. Lake could find a place in the national Republican Party’s infrastructure, which has accepted a few failed candidates into its ranks and so far has been hesitant to distance itself from Mr. Trump.A failed Senate candidate in Arizona who campaigned with Ms. Lake, venture capitalist Blake Masters, was brought on board at the RNC for a GOP post mortem in late November, as was a failed congressional candidate, Madison Gesiotto Gilbert.Ms. Lake’s chances of finding a home in the national party hinge on the upcoming race for national party leader. As it now stands, Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel looks poised to clinch the nomination after being endorsed by enough committee members to win.Although Ms. McDaniel faces challenges from a California committeewoman, Harmeet Dhillon, and the My Pillow CEO, Mike Lindell, the overwhelming sentiment among those on the committee is that Ms. McDaniel continue in her role despite the party’s dismal showing in the last few cycles.In a statement announcing he would not seek the chairman position, Congressman Lee Zeldin called Ms. McDaniel’s re-election “pre-baked,” as if disappointing election results “do not and should not even matter.”

Arizona’s Kari Lake, Mimicking Her Mentor, Refuses To Leave Political Stage

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