Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake seemed to suggest that fraud cost her the election after the race was called for her Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs Monday night.
“Arizonans know BS when they see it,” Lake tweeted after the outcome was declared by multiple outlets, implying that she was not yet ready to concede. Hobbs secured 50.4 percent — a total of 1,266,922 votes — to Lake’s 49.6 percent — a total of 1,247,428 votes — with 98 percent of the votes counted, according to the Associated Press. The race was called almost a week after Election Day as many ballots were being dropped off and counted for days.
Former president Trump, who endorsed Lake in the Republican primary thanks to her embrace of his stolen election narrative, joined Lake in suggesting that the vote-counting process was compromised.
“Wow! They just took the election away from Kari Lake. It’s really bad out there!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday night.
Hobbs is the first Democrat to serve in the governor’s office since 2006. “Democracy is worth the wait. Thank you, Arizona,” Hobbs tweeted Monday night. “I am so honored and so proud to be your next Governor.”
As Arizona’s secretary of state, Hobbs managed elections in the state this cycle. After a Tuesday fiasco in Maricopa County in which some tabulation machines malfunctioned at multiple voting centers, Lake suggested that Hobbs was compromised and should have recused herself from overseeing the election. While on the campaign trail, Hobbs was remembered for her abortion extremism, failing to name a single restriction on the procedure that she would support if elected governor.
After the GOP’s surprising underperformance in the midterms, some previously Trump-friendly commentators have blamed the former president for elevating weak candidates, almost all of whom ran behind their more establishment counterparts. For instance, Lake, as well as Peter Thiel–backed Arizona Senate candidate Blake Masters, ran significantly behind establishment-friendly Republican incumbent for Arizona treasurer, Kimberly Yee.
Announcing her bid in June 2021, Lake joined a crowded field of candidates competing to replace Republican governor Doug Ducey, who cannot serve a third term under Arizona law. A Trump loyalist, Lake rose to prominence for her fiery clashes with the media and her embrace of Trump’s stolen election narrative.
After landing Trump’s endorsement, Lake rose above the other contenders, eventually defeating establishment-backed Karrin Taylor Robson in the primary and securing the GOP nomination for governor. Lake started to gain on Hobbs in the early fall, with many polls anticipating her win, which ultimately did not materialize.
Lake’s contest was one of a few the Democratic Party meddled in during the primary, boosting her candidacy in the hopes that she’d be an easier adversary for their nominee to face in the general election. The Arizona Democratic Party even sent out an email blast portraying moderate Republican Robson as a Democratic shill, which many conservative pundits and media outlets jumped on to prove Lake’s superiority.
“As the Republican primary for governor continues to stir toxic infighting, the Arizona Democratic Party will always be grateful for Robson’s longtime support in helping elect Democrats up and down the ballot, including this November,” Josselyn Berry, a spokeswoman for the state party, said in a statement at the end of the email.