For Immediate Release
Wednesday, August 10th, 2022
Contact: Josselyn Berry, Jberry@azdem.org
Kari Lake Is Driving a Stake Through the Arizona GOP
Lake Spends First Week as GOP Gubernatorial Nominee Attacking…the GOP?
PHOENIX – Kari Lake’s call for Republican unity lasted about as long as it took for her to turn around and dig a knife into the back of the Arizona GOP. She immediately abandoned Arizonans in favor of joining her fellow conspiracy theorists at a MAGA megaconference in Texas over the weekend. In contrast, Katie Hobbs launched a three-day tour of central and southern Arizona. Now Kari Lake is preparing to rally this Sunday with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis–An odd move considering there’s talk that he’s considering challenging Donald Trump.
“Kari Lake really just can’t help herself when it comes to tearing apart the Republicans she considers ‘swamp lords’ and ‘RINOs,’” said Josselyn Berry, spokesperson for the Arizona Democratic Party. “It’s clear that Lake has no interest in uniting her party and would rather pander to MAGA extremists. Compare that to Katie Hobbs who hit the ground running, touring the state and talking to Arizonans about Arizona issues, like rising cost of living, water and funding education.”
See Below for Coverage of How Lake is “Uniting” the Arizona GOP:
- Laurie Roberts: Kari Lake Boasts That She ‘Drove a Stake Through the McCain Machine’ –“We got our first taste of Kari Lake the Uniter this weekend. On Wednesday, Lake called on all gold diggers, doormats and RINOs scheming to ‘end America’ to support her quest to become Arizona’s next governor. By Saturday, she was back to bashing them. ‘I won an epic battle in Arizona,’ a jubilant Lake proclaimed at the CPAC summit in Dallas on Saturday. ‘We drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine.’”
- Phil Boas: Who Wants to Tell Kari Lake That John McCain is Dead? – “Kari Lake attacks the ‘McCain machine’ as if there was one in Arizona. For her, truth is relative, and if you don’t like it, shut up.”
- KTAR: Kari Lake Again Bashes ‘McCain Machine’ During CPAC Appearance– “Lake has bashed McCain in the months leading up to the primary, drawing the ire of his daughter, Meghan. McCain responded to Lake’s remark on Twitter, calling it one way to win the majority voting block of independents in a general election. ‘I know she thinks she’s governor already, but you have to win over more people than just CPAC MAGA Neanderthals to actually win a general,’ McCain said.”
- Arizona Agenda: “Kari Lake secured the GOP nomination for governor, then promptly left town to bash the moderate Republicans she’ll need to win the state.Appearing at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, the former newscaster said, ‘We drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine,’ continuing the anti-McCain tour she started months ago.”
Here’s What Members of Her Own Party Have Said About Kari Lake:
- Governor Doug Ducey went on CNN and said, “Kari Lake is misleading voters with no evidence. She’s been tagged by her opponents with a nickname, Fake Lake, which seems to be sticking and actually doing some damage.”
- Republican Consultant Barrett Marson said, “There’s no doubt that If Kari is the nominee, then this state is in play” for Democrats and “She’s a danger to Republicans losing the gubernatorial race for the first time in 16 years.”
- Tyler Montague, another Republican Consultant said, “If she wins, the GOP loses–either immediately in the election, or over the long term from all the damage she could cause by being a crazy conspiracy theorist.”
- Former Primary Opponent Karrin Taylor Robson called Kari Lake “fake,” “disqualifying,” a “fraud” and a “hypocrite.”