There is perhaps no brighter rising political newcomer coming out of the 2022 Midterms than Kari Lake.
Win, lose, or draw the former journalist is making a name for herself with tough talk and even tougher action.
And now, even some Democrats in Arizona are agreeing with Lake that her opponent should step aside this election cycle.
Lake vs. Hobbs
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake of Arizona has made a name for herself with her brand of bold policy proposals and straight talk.
The Donald Trump-supported Lake defeated a Mike Pence-endorsed RINO in the GOP primaries.
Coming out of the bloody primary, Lake trailed her Democrat opponent, current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs.
The momma bear of the MAGA movement has come roaring back and made the contest a real race.
Then Hobbs refused to debate Lake, saying she wouldn’t share the stage with a “conspiracy theorist.”
Lake used her communications expertise as a former news anchor, hammering Hobbs as a “coward” for running from an exchange of ideas.
The strategy appears to be working, as Lake has surged in the polling.
The America First candidate has led in nine of the last ten surveys out of the Grand Canyon State, and in the one poll she didn’t lead in, the results were tied.
Lake now has the lead in the RealClearPolitics average by 1.8-points, but led in one late October survey by 11-points.
Hobbs’ conflict of interest
But now, Lake is suggesting Hobbs recuse herself from her official duties.
As Secretary of State, Hobbs is responsible for running the state’s elections – including the gubernatorial contest.
As Lake has pointed out, Hobbs being in charge of tabulating the vote count for a race she’s running in, sounds an awful lot like a conflict of interest.
And now two former Secretaries of State from Arizona are siding with Lake, including one Democrat.
“She should recuse herself from the official acts that she would normally perform as secretary and let a deputy secretary or somebody else take care of those,” said former Republican Secretary of State for Arizona, Ken Bennett.
But what’s more telling is that Hobbs’ own party believes she needs to relinquish her duties to avoid the appearance of impropriety.
“I think it would be wise if the Secretary of State seconded responsibility for ministerial oversight to either the Attorney General or the Maricopa County recorder,” said Richard Mahoney, the former Democrat Secretary of State in Arizona.
However, Hobbs’ answer to recusing herself is the same as it was to debating – a flat out refusal.
“As always, the secretary will execute her duties as Arizona’s chief election official faithfully, in accordance with the law, and guided by the highest ethical standards—just as the voters have trusted her to,” Hobbs’ spokesperson Murphy Hebert said. “This includes impartially administering this year’s election and certifying the results.”
Another Hobbs’ team member went on to call Lake an “election denier” and a threat to democracy.
“There’s only one candidate in this race who has repeatedly undermined the Constitution and the democratic process in Arizona—Kari Lake,” says Sarah Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Hobbs campaign. “She has refused to accept the will of the voters in the 2020 election, and has repeatedly refused to accept the results of this election, and even the 2024 Presidential election. She is too dangerous to be Governor.”
Deplorable Daily will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story.
