PHOENIX (AP) — Carrie Lake, a former news anchor who left her journalism career and was embraced by Donald Trump and his die-hard supporters, won the Republican primary for Arizona governor on Thursday.
Lake’s victory was a blow to the GOP establishment, which has rallied behind lawyer and businesswoman Karyn Taylor Robeson in an effort to steer her party out of the chaotic Trump era. Lake said she would not certify President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 and would not make false allegations of election fraud the centerpiece of her campaign.
“Arizonadians who have been forgotten by the establishment have just caused a political earthquake,” Lake said in a statement after the race was called.
Republicans now enter the general election sprint with a slate of candidates closely aligned with Trump who deny that Biden was legitimately elected president. Lake will face Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs in the November election.
“This race for governor is not about Democrats or Republicans. It’s a choice between sanity and chaos,” Hobbs said Thursday night in a statement about Lake’s victory.
Early election results, showing only ballots received by mail before Election Day, gave Robson a solid lead, but it was reduced as precinct votes were added to the count. Lake’s victory became clear Thursday when Maricopa County released the results of thousands of mail-in ballots at polling places on Tuesday.
In a midterm primary season with mixed results for Trump’s preferred candidates, the former president came out on top in Arizona, a state that has been central to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and cast doubt on Biden’s victory. In addition to Lake, Trump’s picks for the U.S. Senate, secretary of state, attorney general, U.S. House of Representatives, and state legislature won the GOP primary.
If they win in November, Trump’s allies will control the election administration in a crucial battleground state as he considers another bid for the White House in 2024. The results also show that Trump remains a powerful figure in the Republican Party as longtime party leaders become increasingly bolder in their efforts to regain control before the next presidential campaign.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie all campaigned for Robeson in the days leading up to the election.
Robeson, who is married to one of Arizona’s richest men, has largely self-funded her campaign. She called the 2020 election “unfair,” but stopped short of calling it fraudulent, and urged the GOP to look to the future.
Lake now faces the difficult task of unifying the Republican Party after a tough primary. On Wednesday, as Lake declared an early victory, she sought to reach out to Robeson and others she fiercely criticizes as RINOs, or Republicans in name only, who disagree with Trump on key issues.
“Honestly, this party needs her to come together and I welcome her,” Lake said of Robson. “And hopefully she’ll come for it.”
Like Trump, Lake courted controversy and confrontation. She berates journalists and avoids questions. She burned masks during the summer 2021 COVID-19 wave and attacked Republicans like Ducey who allowed restrictions on businesses even though as a news anchor she encouraged people to follow public health guidelines.
Lake spent the days leading up to her own election claiming there were signs of fraud, but she refused to provide any evidence. After her victory was assured, she said voters should believe her victory was legitimate.
“We outvoted the fraud,” Lake said. She pointed to problems in Pinal County, where ballots ran out in some precincts and needed to print more, but she and her attorney, Tim La Sota, declined to provide evidence to support her claims of fraud.
She said she has no plans to stop speaking out about election fraud, even as she must broaden her appeal beyond the loyal supporters who secured her primary victory.
Federal and state election officials and Trump’s attorney general have said there is no credible evidence that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump’s claims of fraud have also been roundly rejected by the courts, including by his own appointees. A recount conducted by Trump supporters in Maricopa County, Arizona’s largest, found no evidence of a stolen election and concluded that Biden’s victory was greater than the official count.
Hobbs, Lake’s opponent in November, hounded the candidate over her opposition to abortion rights and gun control and a proposal she floated to put cameras in every classroom to monitor teachers.
“Frankly, Cary Lake is dangerous,” Hobbs told supporters Tuesday night after winning the Democratic primary by a wide margin.
Republicans heading into November as a divided party in Arizona should appeal to independent voters who decide close races, said Chuck Coughlin, a longtime Republican strategist who left the party during the Trump era.
“I see it as a challenge that Republicans are going to have: How do they tell unaffiliated voters?” Coughlin said.
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