Arizona Republican candidate Kari Lake said on Nov. 17 that she’s still fighting in the state governor’s race, in her first major update since Democrat Katie Hobbs declared victory.
“I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that I am still in this fight with you,” Lake, a former television anchor, said in a video statement.
Lake said concerns raised by her campaign about Hobbs, the Arizona secretary of state, overseeing the election and electronic voting equipment turned out to be legitimate. As an example, she pointed to how tabulators across Maricopa County weren’t working properly on Election Day.
Lake said that she spoke with voters who had to wait in line for hours, including a man who went to three different polling sites before he was able to finally cast his ballot.
“Our election officials failed us miserably. What happened to Arizonans on Election Day is unforgivable. Tens of thousands of Maricopa County voters were disenfranchised,” Lake said. As secretary of state, Hobbs is the state’s top election official.
“Now I’m busy here collecting evidence and data. Rest assured I have assembled the best and brightest legal team. And we are exploring every avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week. I’m doing everything in my power to right these wrongs. My resolve to fight for you is higher than ever.”
Hobbs declared victory on Nov. 14, after outlets including The Associated Press called the race for her.
The only statement Lake issued was a terse, one-liner on Twitter that said, “Arizonans know [expletive] when they see it.”
Since then, updated vote counts have seen Lake cut into the lead Hobbs still holds.
The current margin between the two candidates is 0.6 percent. If it ultimately ends up at 0.5 percent or less, an automatic recount will trigger. Thousands of votes still need to be counted, including more than 16,800 in Maricopa County.
Hobbs’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Lake’s new video.
“I am honored to stand before you as Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs,” she said at what her campaign called a victory rally on Nov. 15.
Lake and Hobbs are vying to succeed Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who has been in office for two terms. State law prohibited him from running for reelection.
Read Original Article on TheEpochTimes.com
Video Transcript
Kari Lake: Arizona, We Are Still In The Fight!
Hey Arizona, Kari Lake here. I wanted to reach out to you to let you know that I am still in this fight with you. For two years I’ve been sounding the alarm about our broken election system here in Arizona, and this past week has confirmed everything we’ve been saying. When we called for Katie Hobbs to recuse herself over a year ago they ridicule us. It turns out we were right, the fox was guarding the henhouse and because of that voters have been disenfranchised. When we raised concerns, and I filed a lawsuit months ago to get rid of the electronic voting machines, they said we were crazy.
Well, it turns out we were right. On Election Day nearly half of all polling locations had problems with tabulating machines and printers. Malfunctioning tabulation machines force voters to wait in line for hours to exercise their sacred right to vote. I talked to voters who waited in line for hours. One man told me he went to a location and there was a three-hour line because the tabulators weren’t working. He drove 15 miles to another location and the printers weren’t working. He drove another 15 miles and was finally able to cast his vote, but he’s not sure it counted. Our election officials failed us miserably.
What happened to Arizonans on Election Day is unforgivable. Tens of thousands of Maricopa County voters were disenfranchised. Now I am busy here collecting evidence and data. Rest assured I have assembled the best and brightest legal team, and we are exploring every Avenue to correct the many wrongs that have been done this past week. I’m doing everything in my power to right these wrongs. My resolve to fight for you is higher than ever. This movement started in Arizona and it quickly expanded to all 50 states. It’s a movement of Mama bears and Papa bears, and students, and Arizona’s who love this country, who want secure borders, who want schools that prepare their children for the real opportunities that out there. It’s a movement of Arizonans who wants safe streets once again, and want the drug crisis to come to an end. It’s a movement of Arizona’s who want prosperity and the pursuit of happiness. That movement is stronger than it ever has been, and I can promise you one thing, this fight to save our Republic has just begun.
I love you Arizona and I love you America!
