Former journalist Kari Lake proved to be the most successful candidate in Thursday’s Republican primary for governor of Arizona, following her departure from her career in the news business and her embrace of former President Donald Trump.As a way for Republicans to move beyond the chaotic Trump era, the GOP establishment supported lawyer and businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson.
Lake, an election denier, made false election fraud claims during her campaign and said she would not have certified President Joe Biden’s win in 2020, the Associated Press reports.“Arizonans who have been forgotten by the establishment just delivered a political earthquake,” Lake said in a statement, the news wire reports.The AP notes that Republicans will now head into November's election with a number of nominees loyal to Trump and who falsely claim Biden wasn't legitimately elected.
Lake has been called a hypocrite by critics who say she's changed positions on several topics out of political expediency.For example, Lake recently attacked drag queens as “groomers” and dangerous for children while having been longtime friends with a drag queen, Barbara Seville, who has performed drag for more than 25 years and has even performed at Lake’s home with her children present.Additionally, Lake has taken a page from the Trump playbook and has made no secrets about her sudden disdain for the media.
The decades-long television anchor quit her journalism job and fully embraced the MAGA philosophy that she rode to victory this week.On Thursday night, early election results had Robson in the lead, but as officials added polling place voters, the margin narrowed.