Dem
51
GOP
49
On Friday, Arizona gubernatorial-election loser Kari Lake sued Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, claiming that the election was rigged and she (Lake) actually won. She wants the judge to declare that she is the rightful winner, or failing that, to order a new election. There is not a shred of evidence that Lake won. Hobbs beat her by 17,117 votes. The margin was 0.67%, more than the 0.50% cutoff for an automatic recount. There were some problems with printers in Maricopa County initially, but they were resolved and every eligible voter got to vote in the end.
Maybe Lake is delusional and is so convinced that she was the better candidate that she must have won. But surely her lawyers told her that there is no chance she will win in court. Overcoming a gap of 17,117 votes just doesn't happen. So what is she up to?
One possibility is that she sees her next act as Donald Trump's running mate in 2024. By claiming he won in 2020 and was cheated and now claiming that she won in 2022 and was cheated, he is likely to see her as a kindred soul. If he decides he needs a woman on the ticket, there aren't a lot of good options for him. Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) is already auditioning for the slot, but she isn't a 100% firebreathing election denier. She attended Joe Biden's inauguration, but when asked point blank if she still thinks Trump won in 2020, she is evasive. Typically she says things like "I think there's a lot of people who have doubts about that." What that statement does not say is whether Kristi Noem is one of the people who have doubts about who won. And it certainly is different from: "I have no doubt whatsoever: Donald Trump won in 2020."
The only other high-profile woman Trump might consider is former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. But Haley is probably too mainstream for his taste and she not an election denier. Besides, she has brown skin and is the daughter of immigrants, not characteristics his base laps up.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) would drive Democratic turnout through the roof, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is nuttier than a fruit cake, and Sarah Palin has lost two elections in Alaska this year. The pickins' are slim, so Lake has to be considered a potential running mate for Trump. Her filing a pointless suit to overturn an election is going to make Trump think all the more of her. (V)