In 2022, Kali Lake narrowly lost the Arizona gubernatorial race to Katie Hobbs.
many critics predicted The future is bright for the outspoken former TV news anchor who is a MAGA Republican. But this month Lake I ran out againThis time, he won by a wide margin in the Senate race against Representative Ruben Gallego (Democrat, Arizona). In the Arizona House race, he ran with an 8-point lead against Donald Trump and a 6-point lead against the Republican candidate.
Political scientist Larry Sabato explained Lake's loss in an election favorable to Republicans across the country. declared“Kari Lake is a problem to herself… There's an arrogance in her attitude that makes people uncomfortable.” Columnist Written by Phil Boas The Arizona Republic calls Lake an “unconverted fanatic.”
they may be right. But her defeat is similar to the failed 2022 candidacies of Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, where voters reacted as enthusiastically to a Trump candidate as they did to Trump himself. It may also indicate that it is not.
Lake describes himself as “Trump in heels.” Lake aligns with Trump during 2022 campaign called The late Sen. John McCain was a “loser.” At one rally, she asked if there were any McCain Republicans in the audience and told them to “get the hell out.”
At another meeting, she announced She said: “I was going to repeat something that President Trump said a long time ago, and it got him in trouble. teeth They bring drugs, they teeth bring crime, and they teeth Rapists, and they come across borders. That's a fact. ”
Reiterating President Trump's attacks on the mainstream media, Lake slammed the state's largest newspaper, The Arizona Republic, as “disgusting.” She dismissed reporters who criticized her claims of using ivermectin to treat coronavirus infections, calling them “bugs.”
When Hobbs was declared the winner of the gubernatorial race, Lake claimed the election was “the most dishonest” in Arizona history. She refused to budge and filed legal challenges, none of which were successful. some traction in court. She accused fellow Republican Steven Richer, who was the Maricopa County official in charge of voter registration and mail-in voting, of interfering with vote counting.
Richler sued Lake for defamation after receiving “threats of violence and even death” against her and her family. lake claimed that She is the victim of a “political witch hunt” and we all know it. But as the trial date neared, Lake thought it was probably to avoid embarrassing revelations during the legal discovery process. refused They ended up defending themselves in court and lost the right to contest the merits of the case. A default judgment was entered against her, and a jury is expected to decide damages next year.
Many Arizona voters believe that Trump won the 2020 election, but it was stolen from him. don't think about it The lake was robbed in 2022.
Even in 2024, the content and tone of Lake's campaign remained unmistakably pro-Trump. false lake accused Gallego is running a get-out-the-vote campaign to get millions of illegal immigrants who have “entered our country” to vote in elections. she claimedWithout evidence, Gallego and Vice President Kamala Harris planned to “destroy” Social Security by raising the age at which retirees could receive benefits. Gallego had voted in favor of a bill that would provide funding for the recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers. claimed that He revealed that he actually co-sponsored a bill to defund the police.
Lake cited Gallego's father's convictions for possession and intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine. suspect The congressman was “controlled by a Colombian cartel.” It turned out that Mr. Gallego's parents divorced when he was in high school. Ruben was ashamed of the crimes committed by his father (who was actually Mexican) and subsequently took his mother's last name.
And to refute Lake's baseless claims that Mr. Gallego is a “dead father” who abandoned his family just before his wife gave birth, he said: released The judge characterized the text of his divorce and co-parenting agreement as one of the “most diverse” filings he had ever seen.
Whether you love him or hate him is a matter for Mr. Trump himself. So far, no Trump candidates have emerged as potential successors, including “Trump in heels” Lake, who had two strikeouts. Trump definitely likes it.
And the many Americans who voted against him out of fear and loathing may find some solace in that obvious political reality as they suffer through the next four years — indeed, the 47th president This will be alleviated by the policy of repeated 'j'got it” That he might find a way to stay in the White House for a third term.
Glenn C. Altshuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor Emeritus of American Studies at Cornell University.
