Kari Lake insists her failed lawsuit “proves” election fraud

Kari Lake, Arizona’s unsuccessful 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate, insisted on Saturday that her failed lawsuit revealed “evidence” proving that elections “are run outside of the law”—promising to appeal.

Maricopa County Superior Judge Peter Thompson, who was initially appointed by Arizona’s former Governor Jan Brewer, a Republican, in 2010, ruled against Lake’s allegations. The Trump-backed candidate had initially brought 10 counts in a bid to prevent her Democratic opponent, Governor-elect Katie Hobbs, from taking office. However, Thompson only allowed two to go to trial.

In a Saturday decision, Thompson ruled that Lake’s lawyers had not provided “clear and convincing” evidence of misconduct on the part of election officials. The failed GOP candidate had previously claimed that she believed she actually won the election by 400,000 to 500,000 votes—despite no evidence to support that belief.

“My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law. This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling,” Lake wrote in a Twitter post shortly after the judge’s ruling was made public.

Newsweek reached out to Lake’s press contacts for further comment.

“It bears mentioning that election workers themselves were attested to by both Plaintiff’s witnesses and the Defendants’ witnesses as being dedicated to performing their role with integrity. Not perfectly, as no system on this earth is perfect, but more than sufficient to comply with the law and conduct a valid election,” Thompson wrote in his ruling.

The judge also wrote that “sanctions” against Lake’s team would be considered.

Just as former President Donald Trump did in the aftermath of his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden, GOP candidates in Arizona have promoted unfounded claims that their losses were due to election fraud. Lake, who has drawn substantial support from Trump and his allies, has repeatedly alleged that her Democratic opponent’s victory was invalid.

On Friday, Mohave County Judge Lee Jantzen ruled against a lawsuit filed by former GOP candidate for Arizona attorney general, Abraham Hamadeh, who like his fellow Republicans, had challenged the midterm election results on claims of voter fraud, reported the Associated Press.

Last week, former GOP candidate for secretary of state, Mark Finchem, also had his election suit dismissed by Maricopa County Judge Melissa Julian, who wrote in her decision that none of Finchem’s allegations against Hobbs, the state’s outgoing secretary of state, “constitutes ‘misconduct’ sufficient to survive dismissal.”

Despite the claims of Trump and some Arizona Republicans, no evidence has been brought to light corroborating allegations of widespread election fraud in the state or across the country. To the contrary, audits and recounts have consistently reaffirmed the election results. In addition, many Republican lawmakers and election officials have repeatedly debunked and discredited the claims pushed by Trump and Lake.

Nonetheless, Lake continues to double-down on the claims. In recent remarks during an event at Trump’s resort home in Mar-a-Lago, the Republican contended that she would likely win her lawsuit.

“We’re in the middle of a lawsuit right now, and it is the strongest lawsuit—strongest election lawsuit the country’s ever seen,” she said at the time.

Hobbs narrowly defeated Lake by a margin of more than 17,000 votes. The Democratic governor-elect won 50.3 percent of the vote compared to the Republican’s 49.7 percent.