SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Arizona governor, sat down for a Saturday interview with #WalkAway Campaign PAC (WACPAC) founder Brandon Straka about how she will handle important policies if elected. It was the first-ever such event.
“It’s like we’ve [America has] got wounds and we’re bleeding; we’ve got to stop the bleeding. But the thing that caused the wounds and the bleeding is a stolen election,” Lake said when asked by Straka about election integrity. “Let me tell you, none of these people I’m running against on the Republican ticket even wanted to touch that. It’s the third rail. And I even had people in politics say, ‘Don’t mention the 2020 election.’ I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ I went out, I touched that rail, and I have not stopped talking about it because that’s the reason we have the problems we have.”
Lake further spoke about what election integrity should look like, which she said is passing meaningful legislation that keeps elections limited to one day, paper ballots only, proper identification, counting only legal votes, no mail-in ballots, and getting rid of unsecured electronic voting machines.
The WACPAC held a poll and asked members what issues mattered most to them. Aside from election integrity, the top five issues included border security, tackling big-tech censorship, an America First agenda, and upholding the constitution.
America First Agenda
“It means policies that work for America and put America first, you know, for years, we watched our politicians sell us out. For a whole generation, they sold us out. They caused the business to go over to China because they were worried about their bottom line and their bonus. Meantime, they’re closing down manufacturing. Mom or Dad is losing their job, and the family started to crumble because of that,” said Lake. “And so, for me, I want to start reshoring manufacturing away from China, away from our enemies, into Arizona. That’s an America First policy.”
Border Security
Lake said she will also fight the mass amounts of drugs entering the country across the border under the Biden administration.
“We’re going to issue a declaration of invasion, we’re going to resume construction of the wall using the materials abandoned on the border, and we’re going to put our National Guard down there, armed, and stop people from coming over,” Lake said.
Big Tech Censorship
Straka then asked Lake about censorship. She responded by sharing ideas to hold big-tech companies accountable, including fining companies that impede on First Amendment rights, having a tip line people can call when being censored, and going after these companies “where it hurts.”
Constitutional Rights
On the subject of rights, Straka also asked Lake about her plans to uphold the constitution. Lake said she will not let what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, including shutting down businesses and implementing child mask mandates, happen again. She also mentioned the importance of the Second Amendment because “when they [the government] take that First Amendment away, the only thing keeping us safe from the tyrants is our Second Amendment.”
After speaking on her policy positions, the floor was opened for attendees to ask Lake any further questions.
One participant asked how Lake plans to handle the water situation in Arizona if elected.
“As we grow, and people move here from blue states, it’s an attractive place to live. We have freedom. I think we have to start looking at bringing water in,” said Lake. “There’s a couple ways we can do that. We can bring water in from the Mississippi and Missouri River basin. Pipe it in. These things can be done.”
Watch the full event. The interview with Kari Lake begins at about 1:30hr.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake LIVE with Brandon Straka” by #WalkAway Campaign.