Photo: OLIVIER TOURON/AFP/Getty Images
a judge of Arizona on Saturday rejected a lawsuit by Republican candidate for state governor Kari Lake who was seeking to overturn her defeat in the 2022 election.
The state judge concluded that there was no clear or compelling evidence of misconduct during the state’s election and affirmed the victory of Democratic Governor-elect Katie Hobbs.
Lake, who lost to Hobbs by some 17,000 votes in November, filed a lawsuit in an effort to have the election overturned. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson allowed a two-day trial on some of Lake’s claims, which concluded Thursday afternoon.
Judge Thompson previously dismissed eight other charges alleged in Lake’s lawsuit before trial, ruling that they did not constitute proper grounds for an electoral contest under Arizona law, even if they were true. But he allowed Lake to try to prove the remaining two charges related to printers and ballot chain of custody in Maricopa County at trial.
The court’s ruling marks a major defeat for Lake, who built his candidacy on his support for the lies of the former president donald trump about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He has since falsely claimed to have won last month’s election.
Saturday’s ruling is also the latest blow to election deniers across the country, dating back to a long string of legal losses Trump suffered in 2020 as he sought to contest his election defeat.
In a post-ruling tweet, Lake, who sat in the courtroom during the trial but did not testify, said that would appeal the decision “for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections.”
My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law. This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal to his ruling.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) December 24, 2022
Lake’s legal team has until Monday to appeal. the democrat Katie Hobbs will be sworn in as Governor on January 2.
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