Kari Lake, Republican candidate for Arizona governor.Photo: Caitlin O’Hara/Bloomberg/Getty
Republican nominee for Arizona governorKari Lakeoffered a vague response when asked whether she believes the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from Donald Trump, saying the media is “obsessed” with the question and claiming there is “a lot of corruption in this system.”
Speaking to ABC News journalist Jonathan Karl on an episode ofThis Weekaired Sunday, 53-year-old Lake said, “You guys are obsessed,” when asked about the 2020 election.
“We have a lot of corruption in this system, and they don’t want — I think a lot of people who were responsible for that election know that there were rules broken and laws broken,” Lake said. “And they don’t want to admit fault, OK?”
In truth, Lake’s state of Arizona underwent multiple ballot recounts after the state flipped blue for Biden. In Maricopa County, an investigation found just “100 potentially questionable ballots” out of more than 2 million — a number that wouldn’t change the election results, even if the ballots were found to be definitively fraudulent.
And while Lake claimed to ABC that some 740,000 ballots cast in Maricopa County in 2020 had “no chain of custody,” the county itself has disputed that, saying in anofficial statementthat the ballots were always secure.
As Lake and others cast doubt on the electoral system, poll workers in Arizona say they’ve been subject to threats and harassment, as two people wearing tactical gear and allegedly armed with guns werespotted near a drop boxin Mesa, Arizona — located within Maricopa County — over the weekend.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lake spoke about her own upcoming election, whichpits her in a tight raceagainst DemocratKatie Hobbs, currently the Arizona secretary of state.
“I will accept the results of this election if we have a fair, honest and transparent election, absolutely, 100 percent,” Lake told Karl.
Asked whether that meant she would accept the results even if she lost, Lake reiterated: “As long as it’s fair, honest and transparent.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Lake suggested that, if she was elected, she would seek to limit early voting in her state, telling Karl: “Our Constitution says Election Day. It doesn’t say election season, election month. And the longer you drag that out, the more fraud with problems there are.”
Early voting was a point of contention among Trump allies in the lead-up to election day 2020, andsurveys showthat Democrats are more supportive of allowing early voting than Republicans.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.
Check your voter registration, locate your polling place, and make a voting plan atVote.orgto ensure that your voice is heard this election season.
source: people.com
