Tag: Arizona gubernatorial race

Packed Crowd Attends Kari Lake Rally Exposing Voter Disenfranchisement in Maricopa County

Rachel Alexander

At a standing-room-only event Sunday, Kari Lake signaled she is not giving up her legal battle to install her as the rightful Arizona governor instead of Democrat Katie Hobbs. Lake held a Save Arizona rally at Orange Tree Golf Club in Scottsdale with over a thousand in attendance, assuring her supporters she intended to fight until the “victorious end.” The mainstream media recently ran stories claiming Lake was switching her focus to running against Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).

Lake focused her entire speech on election fraud. “They thought they could steal it and we would just go away,” she said to thunderous applause. “We had the greatest candidates in the country here in Arizona. We were running against some of the worst candidates in the history of Arizona. It didn’t matter if they rolled out brain-dead candidates,” she said, alluding to election fraud ensuring the Democrats’ victories. “The fix was in. They knew they didn’t have to campaign.”

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Kari Lake Responds to Rumor She Is Considering Running for U.S. Senate

Rachel Alexander

Kari Lake is appealing the dismissal of her lawsuit contesting the results of a botched election for Arizona governor, which placed her opponent, Democrat Katie Hobbs, in office, but rumors are swirling in the mainstream media that she is moving on and considering running for U.S. Senate.

The rumors began when CNN reporter Kate Sullivan tweeted on Monday, “I’m told Kari Lake is considering running for the US Senate seat held by Kyrsten Sinema in 2024.” Newsweek published an article titled, “Kari Lake Might Have Finally Given up Her Hopes of Becoming Governor.”

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Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline Warns About the Destruction of the Rule of Law if Kari Lake’s Election Lawsuit is Dismissed

Rachel Alexander

As Kari Lake’s lawsuit contesting the results of the gubernatorial election winds its way through the legal system, various legal experts are speaking out on the merits of the case. Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline, who is currently a professor at Liberty University and director of the election integrity legal organization Amistad Project, warned on Friday that if Lake’s lawsuit is dismissed, allowing Democrat Katie Hobbs to become governor, it will undermine the rule of law. 

Kline tweeted, “If Hobbs is successful in dismissing Lake’s suit it only proves 1) election officials can violate procedure and law without accountability 2) partisan private vendors can still be used to conduct core government functions 3) legislators & others have failed to learn from 2020 and 4) many of those who claimed to fix the 2020 problems are wrong!” 

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Arizona Faced a Similar Contentious Gubernatorial Race in 1916 That Dragged Out with Accusations of Voter Fraud

Rachel Alexander

As the protests and litigation continue in Arizona, challenging the results of the 2022 midterm election where four Trump-endorsed candidates lost, some are looking at history to understand how the litigation may end. In 1916, a contentious gubernatorial race in Arizona, also fraught with accusations of voter fraud, resulted in a clear winner not being established until the next year, when the Arizona Supreme Court declared the Democrat, the winner.

Arizona historian and writer Donna Reiner relayed the story of that election for Arizona Agenda this fall, revealing how due to the feuding over who won, there were two governors both claiming to hold office for several months. It was Arizona’s third statewide election, after becoming a state in 1912, and incumbent Gov. George Wiley Paul Hunt, a Democrat and Arizona’s first governor, faced Republican challenger Thomas E. Campbell of Yavapai County.

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A Recount Could Take Place in Arizona’s Close Gubernatorial Race, Other Races

Rachel Alexander

With almost all of the ballots tabulated from Arizona’s midterm election, some races may end up so close that they trigger the state’s automatic recount provision. The governor’s race is separated by 17,200 votes, with Democrat Katie Hobbs leading Republican Kari Lake 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent. A recount is required where the difference “is less than or equal to one-half of one percent of the number of votes cast for both such candidates or on such measures or proposals.”

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Kari Lake Rips Katie Hobbs’ Support for Trans Teens’ Bodies ‘Being Mutilated’

Susan Berry, PhD

Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake condemned her opponent Katie Hobbs’ support for allowing teens who claim to identify as transgender to have access to life-altering hormone drugs and surgeries.

“She’s sponsoring – that means putting her name on legislation that would introduce sex education to kindergarteners,” Lake said during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally Sunday. “This is outrageous and I was racking my brain, going why would someone do that? That is sick and twisted at the same time.”

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Kari Lake Rises Above Attack Ad Featuring Mother of Capitol Police Officer Who Blames Lake for Son’s Death

Susan Berry, PhD

Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake gracefully handled an attack ad that featured the mother of deceased Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick who blamed Lake and “people like her” for her son’s death.

In the video ad, paid for by the Republican Accountability PAC, Gladys Sicknick is heard introducing herself as “the mother of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol Police Officer who died defending our country on January 6.”

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Kari Lake Barred from the Stage, Ousted from Venue at Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Forum as Katie Hobbs Remained Hidden

Neil Jones

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake attended the Arizona Gubernatorial Candidates Townhall Monday, where she sat in the audience in an attempt to have a real debate with her Democrat opponent Katie Hobbs; however, the event staff told her she had to exit the room before Hobs could appear, leaving no chance for any live exchange of ideas between the two.

“I’m here for a job interview. We’re asking questions. I’m answering them. We [Hobbs] should be here together so you can compare and decide which person is better suited for this job. And she’s not going to do that. Now she says that for this, it’s really interesting for this general election, but what was her excuse in the Democrat primary when she was facing our first immigrant candidate, Marco López? He sat on stage alone. She refused to debate him,” Lake said during her portion of the event. “Because I have a feeling, had Katie Hobbs showed up and sat on that stage with Marco López, who’s a very smart young man, that she wouldn’t be the nominee.”

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Kari Lake, Liz Cheney Trade Blows in War of Words

Peter D'Abrosca

Two prominent Republican political figures were engaged in a war of words over the weekend, after one of them, an outgoing U.S. Congresswoman, said she would campaign against a Republican gubernatorial candidate. 

At the Texas Tribune Festival Friday, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY-01) said she would not vote for her Republican primary opponent, by whom she was beaten in a landslide earlier this year, and said she will “do whatever it takes to make sure [Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee] Kari Lake never takes office.”

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Emerson Poll Shows Tight Races for Arizona Senate, Governor

Peter D'Abrosca

An Emerson poll released Friday shows that both the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races in Arizona, are essentially dead heats. 

The poll shows Sen. Mark Kelly (R-AZ) leading his insurgent challenger Blake Masters by only two points, 47 percent to 45 percent. Five percent of voters remain undecided, and four percent say they will vote for someone else. Meanwhile, 53 percent say they expect Kelly to win, regardless of whom they support. 

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Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Kari Lake Blasts Dem Opponent Katie Hobbs for Ducking Debate

Peter D'Abrosca

Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial nominee is thrashing her Democrat opponent over that Democrat’s refusal to debate her before the November general election. 

“13 days ago, I offered up the sweetest debate offer in history. [Secretary of State Katie Hobbs] waited until 2 hours before the official [Arizona Clean Elections Committee] deadline & denied my offer. She has disdain for us, Arizona. She thinks we are beneath her. We’re going to beat her like a drum in November, folks,” Kari Lake said on Twitter Friday.

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RNC Highlights Katie Hobbs’ Open Borders Background

Peter D'Abrosca

After Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and her Democrat opponent, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, spent the week dueling over who will best secure Arizona’s southern border, the Republican National Committee (RNC) jumped into the battle to highlight Hobbs’s penchant for open borders.

“Democrats couldn’t help themselves nominating another open borders candidate for governor,” said RNC Spokesperson Ben Petersen. “Now Katie Hobbs is cratering with Arizona voters as they learn about her radical open borders record and defund the police ties.”

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FreedomWorks Arizona Endorses Kari Lake

Peter D'Abrosca

FreedomWorks’ Arizona contingency endorsed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, according to a Tuesday release. 

“Kari Lake is the only candidate in this race with the backing of the grassroots; for that reason and more, we are proud to endorse her for Arizona governor,” said Noah Wall, FreedomWorks for America Executive Director. “Having served as a news anchor in Phoenix for over 20 years, Kari is a familiar face whom Arizonans trust. We have every reason to believe that she will continue to be accountable to the people as governor.” 

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Kari Lake Celebrates Momentum as New Poll Shows Her in Lead over Opponent Hobbs

Neil Jones

The Trafalgar Group recently unveiled new survey results involving the Arizona governor seat race, showing Trump-endorsed Kari Lake with a slight lead over her gubernatorial rival, Democrat Katie Hobbs.

“Katie Hobbs had every advantage heading into this race after she faced an easy primary. Instead, despite a tough GOP primary, Kari Lake has seized the lead before Labor Day,” said the Lake campaign in a press release. “Katie Hobbs is simply too much of a Biden-supporting liberal extremist for Arizona. Our campaign will only continue to build on this momentum as Republicans keep uniting around Kari Lake, and Arizonans learn more about her plans to put Arizona First, fix our economy and secure the border.”

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Biggs Officially Endorses Kari Lake

Peter D'Abrosca

Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake received a major endorsement from a sitting U.S. congressman.

“The Biden Administration and radical Democrats have put our nation at risk,” Representative Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) said in his Wednesday statement endorsing Lake. “Our southern border is being invaded, inflation is out of control, and my Democratic colleagues are spending recklessly. It’s time for States to push back on the federal government’s overreach and restore the vision of the Founding Fathers. We can only be successful by electing strong Governors. I know Kari Lake will stand up to the Biden Administration and protect the liberty we value in Arizona. I look forward to working with Governor Lake!”

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Poll Finds Election Day Voters Expect to Vote in Kari Lake’s Favor

Peter D'Abrosca

While early voting remained a dead heat between gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and opponent Karrin Taylor Robson, a poll shows that election day voters are expected to vote for Lake in droves. 

“Voting is already underway and Lake is dominating among voters who have yet to vote but plan to vote before Election Day (41.7% to 25.8%) and those who plan to vote on Election Day (46.7% to 20.5%),” said Creative Destruction Media. “Robson holds a statistically insignificant lead among those who have already cast a ballot, 42.5% to 41.9%.”

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Lake Campaign ‘Highly Confident’ Heading into Primary Day

Peter D'Abrosca

Kari Lake’s campaign for governor of Arizona says it is “highly confident” as it hurdles towards Tuesday’s primary election.

“We feel highly confident. Kari is working hard traveling to all corners of the state. We had a huge rally with over 1,000 people in Tucson last night. And last week 5 polls came out with Kari leading by double digits,” said Lake’s Chief Strategist Billy Grant. “Combined with Robson‘s private jet and state plane scandal, we couldn’t ask for a better last week of the campaign.”

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Katie Hobbs Sat on Board of Radical Far-Left, Soros-Funded Leadership Group

Peter D'Abrosca

Disclosure forms submitted by Arizona Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs (D) show that she sat on the board of a far-left leadership group at least until 2015, when she was a state senator.

Arizona Leading for Change is a progressive group that has compared police to Nazis during the Holocaust, and suggested that police officers are “white supremacists.”

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Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Katie Hobbs Faces High Staff Turnover, Former Staffers Cite ‘Emotionally Abusive’ Environment

Cooper Moran

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has faced high campaign staff turnover, and former employees have pointed to an “emotionally abusive” environment, according to a new report.

The Arizona Agenda, which describes itself as “an insider publication for political outsiders,” spoke to former employees of the Hobbs campaign and originally detailed the controversy.

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Kari Lake Responds to Gov. Doug Ducey’s Criticism, Notes RINOs ‘Travel in Packs’ Citing Rival’s Pence, Christie Endorsements

Rachel Alexander

Early ballots for Arizona’s primary election were mailed last week, prompting a flurry of last minute endorsements for candidates. Gov. Doug Ducey, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson in the gubernatorial race, and Ducey took it a step further, criticizing Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake during a CNN appearance, prompting a sharp response from Lake. 

Lake, who is leading by a substantial amount in recent polls, has portrayed Robson and those endorsing her as RINOs. She told The Arizona Sun Times, “Doug Ducey, Chris Christie and Mike Pence are all herding around Karrin Taylor Robson. It turns out RINOs travel in packs.”

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Kari Lake Calls Out Fellow Republican Karrin Taylor Robson as Only GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Who Says There Was Not Election Fraud in 2020

Rachel Alexander

Election fraud is an important issue to Republican voters, but one of the Republican candidates for governor does not believe there was any fraud in the 2020 presidential election. During the PBS GOP gubernatorial primary debate last week, Trump-endorsed Kari Lake asked for a show of hands from the other three candidates regarding whether the 2020 election was “corrupt” and “stolen.” Only Karrin Taylor Robson did not raise her hand.

Instead, Robson tried to duck the question, responding, “I’m not going to play your stunt.” Moderator Ted Simons asked the candidates to explain why they believed the election was “rigged, stolen, or whatever the phrase might be.” Lake expounded, “It was corrupt and stolen. I’ve looked at the evidence, we did a forensic audit.” 

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Arizona Republican Gubernatorial Primary Race Reveals Divide Between Moderates and Conservatives as Ducey Endorses Robson

Rachel Alexander

The race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination has intensified over the recent days, as key candidates and political players make their moves to influence the outcome of the upcoming primary election. Former Congressman Matt Salmon’s exit and subsequent endorsement of Karrin Taylor Robson was followed by Gov. Doug Ducey, who offered the Phoenix-area businesswoman a full-throated statement of support of his own.

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On Salmon’s Exit, Founder of Arizona’s State House Freedom Caucus Urges ‘Principled, Stalwart Conservatives’ to Support Kari Lake for Governor

Rachel Alexander

In the wake of Matt Salmon’s exit from the Republican gubernatorial nomination race, State Representative Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) – founder of the Arizona Legislature’s House Freedom Caucus – issued a statement urging the former state representative’s supporters to switch their support to Kari Lake.

With Salmon out of the running, the Arizona race for governor is down to two major candidates on the Republican side.

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Kari Lake Outraises Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’ in Gubernatorial Race During First Quarter of 2022

Rachel Alexander

Democrats are mostly resigned to supporting Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs as their candidate for Arizona governor, despite the fact she admitted to participating in furthering systemic racism, by firing a black staffer which resulted in a $2.5 million dollar jury verdict. Yet despite the near consensus supporting Hobbs, her fundraising numbers were stagnant for the first quarter of 2022.

Hobbs triumphantly issued a press release after compiling her total fundraising numbers for 2021, nearly $3 million. But she hasn’t gained any momentum despite the party starting to coalesce around her; during the first quarter of 2022 she raised about $750,000, which is in line with the same rate she raised money last year. A Democratic insider told The Arizona Sun Times in January that the party was resigned to Hobbs getting the nomination, yet there was no bump to reflect this.

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Arizona GOP Gubernatorial Primary Leader Kari Lake Denounces Georgia RINOs, Lauds Dinesh D’Souza’s 2020 Election Ballot-Trafficking Film 2000 Mules

Addison Basurto

Former Phoenix news anchor and mother of two, Kari Lake, gave high praise to filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza’s documentary film, “2000 Mules”, which highlights the ballot-stuffing operations that occurred across multiples states during the 2020 presidential election.

“We just saw Dinesh D’Souza’s movie. It’s outrageous. It’s called 2000 Mules. I think every man and woman in this country should see it,” Lake declared Friday at a campaign stop to support David Perdue’s run against Georgia Governor Brian Kemp at the Appalachian Gun & Range.

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Kari Lake Calls Primary Opponent ‘Doug Ducey in a Dress’

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona gubernatorial race is heating up in the Republican primary, as candidates attempt to distinguish themselves from each other. Former news anchor Kari Lake, who is leading in polling and has Donald Trump’s endorsement, has been calling out Karrin Taylor Robson’s record, referring to her as “Doug Ducey in a dress.” Lake is highly critical of Ducey’s record on COVID-19 restrictions, lack of action on border security, and, she says, being weak on election integrity.

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State Rep. Richard Andrade Withdraws Endorsement from Secretary of State Hobbs Running for Governor

Rachel Alexander

Fallout is continuing after a multimillion dollar jury verdict was awarded to a former staffer of Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs due to Hobbs’ racist and sexist treatment of her. Hobbs admitted, “I participated in furthering systemic racism.” Democrats immediately started dropping their support of her candidacy for Arizona governor, with most recently State Rep. Richard Andrade (D-Glendale) announcing his decision to switch his endorsement to former Nogales Mayor Marco Lopez. 

The Arizona Sun Times asked Kari Lake, the leading gubernatorial candidate on the Republican side who recently joined a lawsuit against Hobbs, what she thought of this latest development. She responded, “The movement we are experiencing is so strong I don’t care who the Democrats put up against me, I will crush them in November.”

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Kari Lake Releases TV Ad During Her Former TV Show Instructing Viewers to Turn It Off

Rachel Alexander

Coming from a 30-year career in the mainstream media as a local broadcaster, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has naturally been able to spotlight many of the biases of the media while campaigning. The Trump-endorsed candidate’s second TV ad launched this weekend, including on Monday during the former show she co-anchored on Fox 10 News. It instructs viewers to turn the show off. 

She began in the ad, “The media isn’t just corrupt, they are anti-American.” A clip of her walking next to 12 News reporter Brahm Resnik is shown, with Lake telling him, “I noticed that you would not say the Pledge of Allegiance and that’s really despicable. Why can’t you put your hand on your heart? When these Media Hacks show you how much they hate America, believe them.”

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Anti-Trumper Behind Dark Money Ad Attacking Kari Lake for Not Being Conservative Enough

Rachel Alexander

A TV ad from an organization attacking Trump-endorsed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has been running on TV and radio. The spot criticizes her for a $350 donation she made to Barack Obama in 2008, well before she entered politics in 2021.

One of the men listed as leadership behind the little-known group, Freedom’s Future Fund (FFF), is Jason Roe (pictured above), who was forced to resign as executive director of the Michigan Republican Party last year for declaring that there was no election fraud in the 2020 election and that Trump’s loss was his own fault.

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Kari Lake Campaign for Governor Raises Almost Three Times More Money as Pundits Predicted

Rachel Alexander

The Kari Lake campaign for governor continues its strong momentum, raising $1,462,115 in 2021 according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s campaign finance database. Two of her Republican opponents brought in more money, but both are funding their campaigns with millions of their own dollars. Steve Gaynor reported $5,009,655, which came almost entirely from his own funds, and Karrin Taylor Robson raised about the same amount as Lake, with almost another $2 million added of her own money. Matt Salmon brought in a little over a million.

Lake told The Arizona Sun Times, “I am thrilled by our fundraising. The pundits expected us to only raise $500,000. We raised nearly $1.5 million. Our swampy opponents hired up all of the political fundraisers in town in order to starve us from being able to raise money. But the people stepped up and made donations because they know in me, they have the first politician to run for governor who will truly represent the people of Arizona.”

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Arizona State Rep. Teresa Martinez Calls For Katie Hobbs to Drop Out of the Governor’s Race After $2.75 Million Jury Verdict Found Race Discrimination

Rachel Alexander

Arizona State Rep. Teresa Martinez (R-Maricopa) is calling for Democratic Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to drop out of the governor’s race due to firing a staffer while at the Arizona Legislature. Talonya Adams won a multimillion dollar jury verdict against the legislature for racial discrimination by Hobbs, her former boss, last week, the second lawsuit she’s won in the case. A jury found that Adams was fired in 2015 because she complained that her relatively lower pay was the result of racial and sex discrimination.

Martinez told The Arizona Sun Times, “I think it’s horrible that we have an elected state official who would have such behavior toward any race. I think anyone running for statewide office should look at people based on the content of their character, not the color of their skin. For this woman to win two lawsuits where two courts found her showing racism — she should not be considered for any post in the state of Arizona, including the one she has now.”

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