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Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is warning her supporters that those who oppose her politically are angling to take legal action against her.
In a short fundraising note, Lake claimed that “The establishment wants to ARREST ME for” exposing what she has claimed is election fraud in her state.
She made the same claim last month in a tweet that contained headlines from online news sources indicating she could be indicted.
“They want to ARREST me for exposing fraud in the 2022 Election. Now, the AZ Supreme Court has ruled that the very fraud I highlighted has to be looked at. This is big, folks. Hit me with your best shot. I will never, ever back down. Try me,” she tweeted.
They want to ARREST me for exposing fraud in the 2022 Election.
Now, the AZ Supreme Court has ruled that the very fraud I highlighted has to be looked at. This is big, folks.
Hit me with your best shot.
I will never, ever back down.Try me. pic.twitter.com/YDIuprUM1W
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) March 23, 2023
Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake’s appeal over the gubernatorial race from November’s midterms. However, the state’s highest court did revive a claim that was dismissed by a trial court regarding the signature verification process in Maricopa County.
“In an order Wednesday, the state’s highest court said a lower court erroneously dismissed Lake’s claim challenging the application of signature verification procedures on early ballots in Maricopa County. The court sent the claim back to a trial court to consider,” the Associated Press reported.
“In her challenge, the former TV anchor focused on problems with ballot printers at some polling places in Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of the state’s voters. The defective printers produced ballots that were too light to be read by the on-site tabulators at polling places. Lines backed up in some areas amid the confusion. Lake alleged ballot printer problems were the result of intentional misconduct,” the outlet added.
The AP continued: “In mid-February, the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected Lake’s assertions, concluding she presented no evidence that voters whose ballots were unreadable by tabulators at polling places were not able to vote. The appeals court noted that even a witness called to testify on Lake’s behalf confirmed ballots that couldn’t initially be read at polling places may ultimately have been counted. And while a pollster testified that the polling place problems disenfranchised enough voters to change the election’s outcome, the appeals court said his conclusion was baseless.”
Lake issued a short statement on the ruling, saying she was “thrilled.”
“The signature verification process in Maricopa County is a house of cards,” Lake said in a statement. “Thanks to this ruling my team will get the chance to topple it.”
In February, Lake announced on Twitter that her election lawsuit was headed to the Arizona Supreme Court after the appeals court ruled against her. In their ruling, the court stated that voters were able to cast their ballots and votes were counted properly in Arizona during November’s midterm elections.
“Lake argues that the superior court erred by dismissing her claims asserting equal protection and due process violations. Her arguments fail, however, because these claims were expressly premised on an allegation of official misconduct in the form of interference with on-site tabulators — the same alleged misconduct as in Lake’s printer/tabulator claim,” the ruling stated.
It continues: “Because these claims were duplicative of a claim that Lake unsuccessfully pursued at trial, the superior court did not err by dismissing them. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the superior court’s ruling confirming Hobbs’s election as governor. We deny Hobbs’s request for an award of attorney’s fees on appeal because she offered no substantive basis for the award.”
“Evidence ultimately supports the conclusion that voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies the election results,” it said.
In the meantime, Lake has been politically active a speculation rises she may vie for Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s seat next year, even as her name has been mentioned as former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate.
She’s been attending events, speaking with voters in several states, attended Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate a few times in recent months, and has even dropped a few hints about her political future if her election lawsuit in Arizona does not pan out.
