The campaign of Arizona’s gubernatorial Republican nominee, Kari Lake, blasted Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY), who spoke on the Arizona State University (ASU) campus Wednesday, telling Arizonans to vote against candidates like Lake.
“Liz Cheney is confused. Auditions for CNN contributors are being held in Washington, not in Arizona. No one here cares what she has to say,” Lake’s Communications Director Ross Trumble said to The Arizona Sun Times.
Entitled Courage in American Leadership, the event was hosted by the McCain Institute and advertised as a discussion on the importance of leadership and civic engagement. While speaking at the event, Cheney told Arizonans they needed to be careful about who their votes will empower.
“I don’t know that I have ever voted for a Democrat, but if I lived in Arizona now, I absolutely would … for governor and for secretary of state,” said Cheney.
She said that anyone who “cares about democracy” or the “survival of our republic” should not vote for anyone who will not honor an election.
Lake is not shy when talking about what she sees as a rigged election. While speaking on the conservative talk show ‘Louder with Crowder, Lake called President Joe Biden illegitimate and said Arizona had a corrupt election. She pointed to evidence like the forensic audit to back her position.
Moreover, this is not the first time Cheney has gone after Lake. As reported by The Sun Times, Cheney spoke at the Texas Tribune Festival, saying she would do “whatever it takes” to ensure Lake never takes office, even vowing to promote Democrat candidates to keep “too pro-Trump” Republicans out of office.
In response, Lake said she saw the statement as a gift more than anything while speaking to Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.
“That might be the biggest, best gift I’ve ever received. I mean, the people of Wyoming can’t stand her. I’m pretty much sure the people of Arizona don’t like Liz Cheney,” Lake said.
As Lake alluded, Cheney has fallen out of good terms within her party. The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a resolution to censure Cheney for her role in the January 6 Select Committee and opposing the Republican goal of winning back a majority in Congress. The censure resulted in Cheney losing all support from the RNC.
The state she represents turned on her as well. In 2021, the Wyoming Republican Party also voted on a resolution to no longer recognize her as a party member after she voted in favor of Trump’s second impeachment.
Cheney’s anti-Trump rhetoric ultimately proved to be the nail in her coffin. Cheney lost the chance to continue representing Wyoming to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman in a landslide August primary election defeat.
Furthermore, Cheney’s opposition to Arizona’s Republican nominees does not seem to be changing voters’ minds. The latest poll from the Trafalgar Group shows nearly every Republican nominee in the state ahead of their opponents. Lake leads over her Democrat opponent Katie Hobbs by almost five percent. As for Arizona’s secretary of state race, the difference is even wider as State Representative Mark Finchem (R-Tucson) enjoys a more than 6 percent lead, well over the poll’s 2.9 percent margin of error.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Kari Lake” by Kari Lake. Background Photo “Arizona Capitol” by Wars. CC BY-SA 3.0.
