“She Should Stick To Her Day Job of Spreading Lies”: Republican Kari Lake, Who Pushed “Stolen Election” Lie, Needs Votes in Senate Bid

Michelle HollandNov 9, 2023

Minute Read

Kari Lake, who perpetuated the “stolen election” myth and claimed “illegal ballots” made Biden win the 2020 election, has entered the 2024 senate race in Arizona. She is currently the leading Republican candidate and campaigning for the public’s votes despite implying that votes for Biden in the 2020 election were illegitimate.

Lake’s Court Battles

After losing her state’s 2022 governor race by 17,000 votes, Lake has spent the year trying to overturn the results in a series of unsuccessful court battles. She was one of the loudest people to spearhead the idea that the election was rigged and that Trump was the rightful winner.

Trump’s Seal of Approval

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As a result, Trump has endorsed Lake’s bid for the senate and showered her with praise for her ardent support of him and his baseless claims — claims that have landed him in major legal trouble of his own.

The “True Governor” of Arizona

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Lake has declared herself the “true governor” of Arizona and refuses to recognize Democrat Katie Hobbs who actually won the election. Hobbs is not the only Republican seeking office in 2024 that echoed Trump’s disproven allegations of rigged, unfair, and fraudulent elections.

Lake Backtracks on Stances

Lake, who previously tried to abolish early voting in 2022, told crowds at a rally that it was “fine” to vote early if they wanted to with many people erupting in boos at her hypocrisy. A video message from Trump also encouraged people to vote despite maintaining that Democrats “cheat” under the current system.

“They Can’t Cheat That Badly”

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“Republicans must win, and we must win very, very big,” Trump stated. “It’s much harder for them to cheat if we do it like we should and swamp ’em. If we get enough votes, they can’t cheat, because they can’t cheat that badly.”

Mixed Messages

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David Becker, the executive director and founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, warned that Arizona residents are “hearing very mixed messages, at best” from Lake, and that “she needs a whole lot of Arizonans that aren’t going to rallies to vote for her” as well.

Historically, Election Deniers Lose

Experts have noted that in 2022, all election deniers who participated in statewide races lost, whereas Republicans who didn’t run on these platforms were far more successful.

Lake Gets Slammed Online

“Why does she bother running? Why doesn’t she just claim she won already so she can get ahead on crowing that the system is corrupt?” one online forum member wrote, questioning why Lake would participate in another election if she believes them to be rigged.

A Hidden Agenda

One person revealed their own suspicions for why Lake opted to join the Senate race. “Embezzling campaign funds is only illegal if you are a Democrat,” they said. Another user also accused Lake of grifting.

Arizona Deserves Better

“No one who lies and refuses to accept she was defeated should ever be allowed to run again,” one user stated, adding that “the people of Arizona deserve better.” Many other people echoed this sentiment, comparing Lake’s own election lies to Trump’s.

Predicting a Loss

Others predicted that Lake would lose her senate bid and have a similarly inappropriate reaction. “How rigged is this one gonna be when she loses again?” one commenter asked. “Sooo rigged. More rigged than the last one, you can tell by how much she lost. There aren’t that many people who vote,” someone else replied sarcastically.

Nobody Takes Lake Seriously

“But she’s the GOVERNOR!!!” one person wrote, mockingly repeating Lake’s unsubstantiated claims. Another person declared that the story might as well be “Kari Lake to announce eventual loss in run for Sinema’s seat in Arizona.” Someone else replied that it should instead read “Correction: Lake announces election fraud before voting begins.”

Three Way Race

While most people expected Democrats to win the Senate seat, some users pointed out the fact that a Democrat and former Democrat were going up against Lake, creating a three-way race that could pave the way for Lake to win. Someone suggested that “Lake’s best bet is probably to try to lump Sinema and Gallego together as “radical commie leftist Marxists” to better evenly split their votes.”

Conspiracy Theories

“Kari Lake is running for Senate?” one person questioned. “That’s the most hilarious thing I’ve heard since she claimed the election was rigged by a cabal of lizard people, that masks cause cancer, and that vaccines are a plot to implant microchips in our brains,” they added, referencing Lake’s history of promoting conspiracy theories.

“An Embarrassment to Democracy”

“She should stick to her day job of spreading lies and conspiracy theories on her fake news channel, where she can spew her nonsense to her deluded followers,” they continued. “She is an embarrassment to Arizona and an insult to democracy. She is not fit to be a senator or even a dog catcher. She is a joke and not a funny one.”

Doubting Lake’s Chances

“She couldn’t win a statewide office BEFORE people found out what an a—— she is. No way she wins,” someone observed. “Remember when people needed actual qualifications?” another person asked.

A Way for Lake to Win

Someone else hypothesized that Lake could win “if Sinema splits the moderate vote and pulls enough votes away from Gallego.” Others agreed that conservative Democrat-turned-Independent Sinema would be to blame if Lake wins over Gallego, the Democrat candidate who is currently the frontrunner to win.