New year, new Kari Lake? Don’t count on it.
The defeated GOP gubernatorial candidate, who has yet to concede the race nearly two months after it was called, railed against her opponent and current Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) for laughing while being sworn into office on Monday.
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“During her swearing-in ceremony, @katiehobbs laughed and giggled throughout what was supposed to be a dignified process, and refused to say that she would support our Constitution,” Lake tweeted from her “Kari Lake War Room” account. “Everyone enjoy your Banana Republic. And pray that a brave judge puts an end to this charade.”
During her swearing-in ceremony, @katiehobbs laughed and giggled throughout what was supposed to be a dignified process, and refused to say that she would support our constitution.
Everyone enjoy your Banana Republic.
And pray that a brave judge puts an end to this charade. https://t.co/XLoeBSLPSG
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) January 2, 2023
Hobbs beat Lake, a die-hard supporter of former President Donald Trump, by 1 percentage point in November.
In a follow-up tweet, Lake claimed, Hobbs’s swearing-in was “one of the darkest moments in the history of Arizona,” but she added, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.”
“We will expose this fraud for the world to see,” she wrote. “Justice is coming.”
This is one of the darkest moments in the history of Arizona.
An illegitimate ‘Governor’ laughing in the face of our constitution.
But it’s always darkest before the dawn.
We will expose this fraud for the world to see.
Justice is coming.@katiehobbs won’t be laughing then. https://t.co/q8MzZQxbXu
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) January 2, 2023
Others, though, pushed back on Lake’s claims, saying she took what Hobbs did out of context and tried to weaponize it.
“This is not a fair characterization,” Timothy Sandefur, vice president of legal affairs at the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute. “If you watch the whole video you can see that Gov. Hobbs was feeling emotional & made a little joke to her mother (holding the Bible) about how they were both getting choked up.” He added, “In fact, it’s a bit touching. I’m sure I’d get choked up under such circumstances myself.”
This is not a fair characterization. If you watch the whole video you can see that Gov. Hobbs was feeling emotional & made a little joke to her mother (holding the Bible) about how they were both getting choked up. https://t.co/e5KztTgsv9 https://t.co/5OLAmKRrpU
— Timothy Sandefur (@TimothySandefur) January 2, 2023
Lake burst into the national spotlight last year as one of the loudest election deniers vying for public office. Her wildly bombastic claims made her a media sensation, but for all of the wrong reasons. She was spoofed on Saturday Night Live, lambasted on late-night talk shows, and labeled incompetent by longtime state and national Republicans, including former Vice President Mike Pence and outgoing Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ).
Multiple political analysts predicted that Lake would fall short in the general election because she did not tailor her message to more centrist voters. Instead, they claimed, her comments were carefully crafted to appeal to right-wing conspiracy theorists and failed to move the state forward.
The former television anchor ran a full Trumpist campaign and pushed a familiar but divisive message that questioned the legitimacy of the country’s election system. Lake ramped up the rhetoric and peddled conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential race as well as issues at the border. She also repeated some of Trump’s most incendiary comments, such as calling Mexicans “rapists.”
On Saturday, she called for a hand recount of the ballots.
Lake has insisted, without providing any evidence, that she won the election by 400,000 to 500,000 votes rather than losing by 17,000 votes.
While most people have written off Lake, including members of her own party, she does still have supporters.
Newly elected Arizona state Rep. Rachel Jones tweeted that she, like Lake, would not give up the fight.
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“I will NOT move on like everything is o.k.,” Jones wrote. “I will NOT pretend like Fake Katie Hobbs is the legitimate governor of AZ. I will NOT stand by while my favorite state is stolen by radical leftists. I will NOT allow this election to be stolen.”
Jones said she would push for Arizona’s legislature to “decertify” the results of the race.
