(Photo via @KariLake on Twitter)
By Stacey Barchenger | Arizona Republic
An Arizona appeals court has rejected Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s challenge of her November loss to Democrat Katie Hobbs.
It is the second court ruling to find no evidence to support Lake’s claims that she won and affirm Hobbs defeated the former television news anchor. Hobbs won by 17,117 votes, less than one percentage point, a margin Lake has continued to challenge in court and during appearances across the country.
“Lake’s arguments highlight Election Day difficulties, but her request for relief fails because the evidence presented to the superior court ultimately supports the court’s conclusion that voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results,” the appellate opinion written by Chief Judge Kent E. Cattani reads. Presiding Judge Maria Elena Cruz and Judge Peter B. Swann joined in the opinion.
Lake has pledged to appeal the ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court, while Hobbs’ representatives dismissed Lake’s ongoing effort to change the election result.
“It must feel like Groundhog Day for Kari Lake as she racks up loss after loss,” Hobbs’ campaign manager Nicole DeMont said in a statement. “First, the voters rejected her, and now the courts have twice rejected her baseless claims. We can’t speak for the Iowa voters she’s been meeting with or the crowd at Mar-a-Lago, but Arizonans are tired of her conspiracy theories and her pathetic attempts to stay relevant.”
The court affirmed a prior ruling from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, who heard two days of testimony in December before ruling he could not “accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”
