Republican Arizona gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake refused to say Sunday that she would accept the results of her race in November if she loses to her Democratic opponent.
The Trump-backed candidate has made election integrity a pillar of her campaign and frequently questions the results of the 2020 presidential contest on the campaign trail.
Pressed by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union,” Ms. Lake repeatedly said she’d accept the results if she wins but declined to say so if she loses to Democrat Katie Hobbs.
“I’m going to win the election, and I will accept that result because the people of Arizona will never support and vote for a coward like Katie Hobbs who won’t show up on a debate stage,” Ms. Lake said. “She’s single-handedly destroying a 20-year tradition of gubernatorial debates because of her cowardice.”
Ms. Hobbs, who declined to debate her Democratic rival during the primary, also has refused to debate Ms. Lake.
Ms. Lake noted that Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is running for Georgia governor a second time against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp after losing in 2018, never officially conceded her loss.
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“Stacey Abrams never conceded. She still hasn’t. I don’t hear CNN calling her an election-denier,” she said. “We have the right. It’s protected with our First Amendment to question our government and to question elections.”
The competitive Arizona race is a toss-up and has garnered national attention.
Ms. Lake has an average lead of less than 1 percentage point over Ms. Hobbs in recent polls, and nonpartisan election forecasters such as the Cook Political Report say it could go for either candidate.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who is completing his second consecutive term, is unable to run again because of term limits.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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