For Immediate Release
Monday, Sept. 26th, 2022
Contact: Josselyn Berry, Jberry@azdem.org
Welcome to All About Kari, a weekly rundown in the run-up 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
Lake In Hiding Days After Ruling That Sends Arizona Back to 19th Century Ban on Abortions– In a classic Friday news dump, a Pima County judge lifted an injunction that allowed a pre-statehood law banning almost all abortions and criminalizing doctors to take effect. Katie Hobbs held a press conference the very next morning speaking out against the ruling. Meanwhile it’s day four and Kari Lake is still silent, dodging press and refusing to say anything on this 19th century ban that she’s gleefully celebrated before. Lake responded to the SCOTUS decision overturning Roe by saying she supports the 1901 Arizona law and celebrated the 1901 ban again as a “great law” during a forum in February and said she would support and enforce it during the Republican primary debate.
Fact Check False. Lake’s Gotcha Attempt on Katie Hobbs is Epic Flop– Kari Lake proved she has more of a knack for reading teleprompters than she does for legislation when she tweeted out a video after teasing “painful, hurtful news about Katie Hobbs.” Except her bombshell news promptly blew up in her face when multiple Arizona reporters correctly flagged it for the outright lie that it was and provided a tutorial on how to correctly read a bill. Republican strategist Chuck Coughlin criticized Lake’s ignorance of the basic workings of state government, saying “It’s disappointing that somebody that’s running for governor can’t read state statute, especially for someone who claimed they triple-checked their facts.” In an interview with AZ Family, Wes Gullett, former chief of staff to previous Republican Governor Fife Symington, said of Lake’s stunt, “That’s why we have campaigns because we see if people are qualified to be governor. Reading bills is a qualification of being governor. You have to know what a bill says, how a bill changes, how a bill becomes a law. Those are fundamentals that Kari Lake doesn’t understand.”
Kari Lake’s Don’t Ask Me Anything Tour: Lake Runs Scared From Tough Questions– This week Kari Lake launched an “Ask Me Anything” tour, but it turns out it’s more like a “Ask me anything…that we screened, discussed and my campaign deemed in no way detrimental to me” tour. Lake truly got to the heart of what Arizona voters are looking to hear from their next governor by answering such tough and hard hitting questions like “You inspired our family to leave California,” “How can we help you?” and “How is your family?” All of this pokes holes in Lake’s narrative that she’s willing to take questions from anyone. Even better, Lake’s short-lived “tour” abruptly ended with a trip to Texas to visit Don Huffines, the Texas legislator who refused to fire a “staffer tied to white nationlist movement,” according to the Texas Tribune. She also continues to insult and ignore legitimate local media and Arizona in favor of only appearing on friendly MAGA media like OANN and Sebastian Gorka’s show. Lake has also repeatedly referred to the Arizona Republic as the “Repugnant” and insulted local reporters like Brahm Resnick.
“Murderers,” “Executioners,” “Ghouls” and “Liars.” Kari Lake Continues Attacking People Who Seek and Support Abortion– “Ghouls” and “liar” can be added to the long list of insulting names Kari Lake has thrown at women who have had abortions and people who support reproductive freedom. Last weekend, the Lake Campaign attacked Katie Hobbs for sharing her personal experience with miscarriage and advocating for abortion access, calling her a “ghoul” and a “liar,” and by extension all women in the same position. Lake has previously referred to people who seek abortion care as “executioners” and Lake has repeatedly called abortion “murder,” framing women who seek abortion care as murderers, saying, “I believe that taking the life of an unborn child is murder.”
With Less Than 45 Days Until The Election, Lake Continues to Spew Election Conspiracy Theories– Kari Lake is once again refusing to say if she would accept the election results, and with less than 45 days until the election, she’s continued to push unfounded election conspiracy theories. A recent Washington Post article reported that Lake was one of a dozen candidates who “declined to say that they would accept this year’s result.” This is not the first, second or even third time that Lake has refused to say if she’ll accept the results of the gubernatorial election if she loses.