Trump-Endorsed Candidate For AZ Gov Linked to Nazi Sympathizer and QAnon Cult
A new report from CNN’s KFile on Kari Lake, the Trump-backed candidate for Arizona’s gubernatorial race, reveals her ties to fringe far-right figures at her campaign events. Lake thanked a Nazi sympathizer for his support and has also appeared with figures linked to the QAnon conspiracy cult.
Lake, a former longtime TV anchor at a Phoenix Fox affiliate station, became an early favorite in the GOP primary by embracing the kind of extremism that used to be considered “fringe” but is now the mainstream within the Republican Party. Her campaign platform has included promoting Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 Presidential election. She’s also against mask and vaccine mandates and has publicly called for the imprisonment of Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is also running for governor. GOP Gov. Doug Ducey cannot run again next year because of term limits.
Fellow Trump and QAnon loyalists have also rallied behind Lake, including Rep. Paul Gosar (Q-AZ), former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. Lake also posed for a photo last month with Ron Watkins, a MAGA conspiracy theorist who takes credit for creating the violent far-right QAnon conspiracy across social media that Lake and others have helped spread all the way to Congress along with Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Madison Cawthorn, and Andy Biggs.
While my radical opponent Kari Lake is rallying for more conspiracy theories and more fake audits, I am laser focused on what really matters to the people of Arizona: jobs, education, and a transparent, accountable government that works for us.
Read my statement: pic.twitter.com/f5rhbdleDe
— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) November 4, 2021
At a Back the Blue campaign event in early October, Lake’s campaign invited right-wing activist Mary Ann Mendoza, who lost her police officer son in a crash involving an undocumented immigrant, to speak. Last year, Mendoza promoted a QAnon-laced conspiracy theory tweet thread that baselessly alleged Jews were plotting to take over the world, causing the Republican National Convention to abruptly drop her from its speaking lineup. And as recently as Wednesday, Lake’s campaign held what it called an “election integrity” rally to commemorate the anniversary of the 2020 election, which she falsely promotes as the “Big Steal” in event flyers.
Do you want someone who doesn’t believe in science making big decisions in our state? Kari Lake keeps showing us time and again that she stands completely against common-sense public health and safety measures. Like and retweet if you stand completely against her.
— Marco Lopez (@1marcolopez) November 1, 2021
Lake’s election isn’t for another year, but she’s already pushing conspiracies regarding the votes that haven’t even been cast yet, which has been heard from other Trump-endorsed candidates running for office next year.
Trump-endorsed Arizona Governor candidate Kari Lake posted “they will try to steal” the election from her.
The election isn’t for another year. This is their new playbook. pic.twitter.com/bbLxWgNZrN
— Resist Programming 🛰 (@RzstProgramming) November 4, 2021