OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake engaged in a fiery back-and-forth with British TV host Piers Morgan over her recent election loss to Democratic rival Katie Hobbs.
During the Wednesday interview, Morgan at one point focused on Lake’s refusal to concede to Hobbs, even comparing her to former President Donald Trump at one point regarding the 2020 election.
“I don’t mind your fighting spirit,” he said, “but it does come a point when for the future of democracy, you and Donald Trump have to accept at some point you lost an election. Otherwise, the entire system collapses.
“If your simple response to losing is always, ‘we didn’t lose, we won,’ then democracy dies,” Morgan pressed.
Lake continued to defend her previous assertions and claims made in various post-election lawsuits about voting irregularities allegedly affecting the outcome and causing her to lose to Hobbs by around 17,000 votes. She also said that had she lost “fair and square,” she would have conceded.
“I’m fighting for the people of Arizona,” she said. “In Arizona, I can’t walk 10 feet without an Arizonan saying, ‘I voted for you, everybody I know voted for you, our ballot was rejected on Election Day, please keep fighting for us.'”
She then said pointedly to Morgan: “I don’t mean any offense to you, but I frankly don’t give a damn what you think. I’m fighting for the people of Arizona.”
Morgan then asked when Lake planned on “conceding” the election.
“We are taking [the lawsuit] to the [Arizona] Supreme Court,” she said.
The host then switched gears somewhat and asked Lake about rumors she may jump in the 2024 Senate race against incumbent Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who left the Democratic Party last year but still caucuses with Democrats in the Senate.
Lake says she has “had many people reach out” about it but that she is still focused on resolving her gubernatorial challenges. “It is in the back of my mind, but my No. 1 priority is my case. And I want to see my case through.”
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After her appearance, Lake went on social media and promoted the interview as a “spirited debate,” adding that it was “a great chat.” Morgan followed up by writing, “I enjoyed it too — thanks for coming on Kari.”
Thank you to @piersmorgan for the spirited debate & the opportunity to share the merits of my lawsuit, my commitment to putting America First and my continued support of Donald Trump with your audience.
Let's do it again soon.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) February 9, 2023
I enjoyed it too – thanks for coming on Kari.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) February 8, 2023
During an interview with Charlie Kirk on his Real America’s Voice show last week, Lake hinted that she could run for the Senate in the 2024 election if she doesn’t get a “decent ruling” in her lawsuit for the Arizona gubernatorial election.
When Kirk asked if she was “entertaining” a Senate run, Lake replied: “Yes, I am entertaining it. I mean, my number one priority is our court case, and I have full confidence in our court case, and I hope we will get a judge to do the right thing. But I’m also looking at what happens if we don’t get a decent ruling in that, and they want me to go away, they want our movement to go away. I represent we, the people, and if they want us gone so badly that they’re willing to steal an election, then I’m not going to let them have that, I won’t go away.”
“I’ve seen some internal polling that shows I’m the only Republican who can beat these other two. I find both of them incredibly dangerous to the people of Arizona, Kyrsten Sinema’s voting record being 93 percent of the time voting for Joe Biden’s agenda, I find Ruben Gallego being a self-admitted socialist really frightening for Arizona and if I’m the only Republican who can beat them, I would be willing to jump in,” Lake added.
Meanwhile, a state appeals court in Arizona has agreed to expedite a hearing into Lake’s election lawsuit. The decision by the Arizona Court of Appeals comes after the state Supreme Court rejected her case earlier this month and remanded it to be heard first in lower courts. In a brief order, the court agreed with Lake’s arguments that her challenge should be handled as a “special action petition.” The court date is reportedly scheduled for March.
