For Immediate Release
Monday, Oct. 2nd, 2022
Contact: Josselyn Berry, Jberry@azdem.org
Welcome to All About Kari, a weekly rundown in the runup to the general election on every radical and extreme thing Kari Lake says and does. It can be hard to keep track of tweets, ads and interviews, so we’ve done that for you. Enjoy!
Tweet of the Week
Kari Struggles to Face Her Extreme Stances on Face the Nation— Kari Lake went on Face the Nation Sunday for a train wreck of an interview where she said that “true choice” for women is either keeping a baby or putting it up for adoption, with no other choice. Then she awkwardly tried to reconcile her extreme, hardline support for total bans on abortion. Lake has long supported the 1901 ban on abortion, which has no exceptions for rape or incest and requires prison time for doctors. She responded to the SCOTUS decision overturning Roe by saying she supports the 1901 Arizona law and celebrated it again as a “great law” during a forum in February and said she would support and enforce it during the Republican primary debate. She’s said, “I am pro-life 100%. I’m against abortion,” opposing exceptions for rape and incest.
Trump and Lake MAGA Rally of MEGA Lies– Trump headed back to Arizona this Sunday for a rally with Kari Lake and Blake Masters. Lake has decided to tie herself completely to unpopular, right-wing extremists like Trump, Masters, Ted Cruz and others, alienating the moderate and independent voters needed to win this race. Unlike some other GOP candidates who’ve tried wooing voters in the center, Lake has placed herself in the furthest right corner for her entire campaign. At therally, Trump repeatedly made claims of a stolen election in 2020, calling it a “rigged and stolen election” while the crowd repeated Lake’s previous calls to “lock her up” in reference to Katie Hobbs. In contrast, Arizona Republicans held a press conference on why they’re putting country over party to elect Katie Hobbs as the next governor.
Former Arizona Governor Still Refuses To Endorse Kari Lake, Meets With Katie Hobbs Instead– With less than a month until election day Kari Lake is still failing to consolidate wide GOP support for her campaign and continues only speaking to her far right base. Former Arizona governor Jan Brewer has again said she hasn’t decided she’ll vote for Kari Lake. Brewer went on the Gaydos and Chad Show this week and said she won’t commit to voting for Kari Lake and that Kari Lake continues to snub the former Republican governor. Other high level Republicans are also defecting from Lake, and every day more Republicans are speaking out about their support for Katie Hobbs. Most notably, Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said recently, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure Kari Lake is not elected.” Instead Lake continues to associate with unpopular extremists like Ted Cruz and Blake Masters.
Another Ad Faux Pax– A rabbi is speaking out against Kari Lake after she used his image in a political ad. Lake used a photo of the Rabbi without his consent and he says the photo was from a meeting to discuss “her alarming endorsement of an antisemitic Republican legislative candidate in Oklahoma.” Lake has so far not apologized or reached out to the rabbi. Jewish News reports, “they were unable to locate a public statement from the campaign acknowledging the error or apologizing for the mistake. At this time, it is not clear how the campaign has, according to Kwasman, acknowledged its mistake.”
And Another Ad Embarrassment— Lake was busted for using Russian troops in a ‘secure our border’ ad to represent the Arizona National Guard. A new campaign ad for Kari Lake, the hard-right Donald Trump-backed GOP nominee for governor in Arizona, features stock video of Russian soldiers marching in a victory parade. The footage appears as the narrator of the spot promises Lake, a former local news anchor, will “deploy the National Guard to secure our border,” Heartland Signal reported on Thursday.
Kari Lake’s “Don’t Ask Me Anything” Tour Continues– In Case You Missed It, in the middle of a so-called “Ask Me Anything” tour, Kari Lake refused to answer the Arizona Republic’s questions in a recent candidate series. The Q&A included topics top of voters’ minds, such as Arizona’s teacher shortage crisis, the economy, and governing experience. Katie Hobbs meanwhile did respond to the Arizona Republic. This isn’t the first time Lake’s “Ask Me Anything” tour has raised eyebrows. Last week, a reporter in attendance noted that a recent campaign stop featured hardball questions like “How can we assist your campaign? And what is your favorite food?”
Kari Lake Hasn’t Released An Economic Plan To Address Arizona’s Rising Cost of Living–In August, Lake claimed she had an “economic plan,” but with less than a month until election day, Kari Lake has not published a comprehensive economic plan to address one of the top issues for Arizona voters–boosting the economy. Even when she has paid lip service about addressing inflation, an economist who advised governors on both sides of the aisle for 40 years said Lake’s idea “just doesn’t work” and actually could make inflation worse in Arizona. Phoenix, Arizona is the worst in the nation for inflation. In early September, Lake even admitted “we haven’t put it out,” referring to her economic plan. Meanwhile, Katie Hobbs’ detailed plan to bolster our economy would relieve burdens on families by providing a child care tax credit of $250 per child every month, along with eliminating sales tax on exempt diapers and baby formula, and implementing a sales tax holiday on school supplies. ASU economist Dennis Hoffman praised the Hobbs plan saying it “can help combat inflation,” and that it would “benefit lower-income people in a state where upper-income earners have benefitted the most from tax cuts.” To date, Hobbs has released 10 substantive plans, including a plan to fight price gouging and consumer fraud.
Kari Lake Ignores Arizonans to Campaign with Unpopular Extremists— Less than a month until Election Day and Lake continues to associate with unpopular extremists instead of talking to voters she needs to win. Unlike some other GOP candidates who’ve tried wooing voters in the center, Lake has placed herself in the farthest right corner for her entire campaign. Now, Lake is joining Ted Cruz and Blake Masters for a campaign rally today in Queen Creek. And this weekend, former President Donald Trump returns to Arizona for an Oct. 9 rally in Mesa to support Lake and Masters.