“Kari Lake has somehow managed to out-MAGA even Donald Trump,” said End Citizens United // Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller. “Instead of a forward-looking agenda to help working families, Lake is too focused on dismantling our democracy and perpetuating the Big Lie. Voters shut down her extremism in 2022, and this November, they will stand up for democracy and reject her election denialism once again.”
MSNBC: Kari Lake keeps showing why she may be the worst Senate candidate in Arizona history
Ja’han Jones
05/13/24
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Over the past few months, Republicans from Donald Trump to Mitch McConnell have expressed annoyance or uncertainty about Lake’s campaign, questioning if she has what it takes to challenge probable Democratic nominee Rep. Ruben Gallego this fall. Some Republicans concerned about Lake’s election hopes have cited her waffling on key issues such as abortion and fighting with fellow Republicans.
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Republicans have also advised Lake to steer clear of Trumpian election denialism, a seeming acknowledgment of the fact that no statewide candidate has won a race in Arizona after campaigning on Trump’s baseless claims of widespread election fraud.
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Appearing on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Lake was asked about her faith in the legitimacy of this fall’s elections, and she claimed she’s not “all that confident” elections will be fair this November. This mirrored her pre-election suggestion in 2022 that the gubernatorial race could be rigged against her. And it was particularly disturbing coming from a candidate who recently advised her followers to strap on a “Glock” to prepare for what Democrats might do this election season.
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In her Fox interview, she also pushed bigoted claims that align with the racist “replacement theory,” accusing liberals of offering immigrants welfare services to recruit them for election fraud schemes. Such claims have been the impetus for multiple acts of racist violence. And she touted “many lawsuits” (seemingly including her own failed legal challenges of the 2022 election) she claims would make voting more secure in Arizona.
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It’s clear Lake is all-in on election denialism, but evidence suggests Arizonans (voting majorities, at least) are not. As I mentioned, no statewide candidate in Arizona has won a race on an election denial platform since 2020. And Lake’s legal Hail Mary to ban mail-in voting, electronic voting machines and ballot tabulators has gone nowhere in court — not to mention the fact this was an ill-advised crusade in a state where three out of every four voters cast absentee ballots.
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These are the kinds of extremism-inspired missteps that have GOPers wincing as they watch the Lake campaign. And for good reason.
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