The Washington Post's Isaac Stanley-Becker and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, writing in this morning's edition, dissected the failed campaign of extremist cult follower of the Malignant Loser:
"[Kari]Lake burst onto the national political stage this year as perhaps the purest embodiment of Trump’s grievance-fueled brand of politics. Her slash-and-burn campaign operation courted controversy, stoked distrust in the democratic process and earned her mentions as Trump’s possible 2024 vice-presidential pick — or perhaps even a presidential candidate herself.
Then she lost. [snip]
Interviews, internal documents and voting data point to the reasons behind her defeat: The candidate, so focused on parroting Trump and settling personal scores, failed to execute on a plan to court the independents and centrist Republicans who decide elections in Arizona, once a red state that now gleams purple.
As advisers urged her to consolidate GOP support after the primary, Lake remained fixated on a grudge match against people loyal to the legacy of the late Sen. John McCain. In the race’s closing days, she appeared in the suburbs alongside Stephen K. Bannon, the far-right radio host and former Trump strategist who was sentenced in October to four months in prison for contempt of Congress. [snip]
'It was both a collapse and, now in hindsight, it was a failed campaign from the beginning,' said a high-ranking Arizona Republican. 'I don’t really know what to say beyond outrageous arrogance and never getting out of primary mode. This election wasn’t stolen. It was given away.'" (our emphasis)
Lake has refused to concede and has nonsensically challenged the results of the Arizona gubernatorial election in court, inserting the usual conspiracy claims into a lengthy suit, and one that is sure to fail. She dismissed all of the calls to "moderate" her Trumpist message to appeal to independents and persuadable Republicans, and instead turned to the likes of Bannon and the Malignant Loser to campaign for her.
An interesting fact that will be raised by Arizona officials who have to respond to Lake's suit: the Republican candidate for State Treasurer, Kimberly Yee, received nearly 120,000 more votes than her ticket mate Lake. It shows that Arizona voters saw Lake's "outrageous arrogance" and lies and said "no thanks."
(photo: Where's the p*ygrabber's other hand, Kari? Mario Tama / Getty)
