LOL Kari Lake loses!
Other local losers include Senate candidate/Thiel-protégé Blake Masters and Oath Keeper Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem.
Finchem lost by a wide margin in comparison to other races (52.4% - 47.6%), but that hasn’t stopped the Oath Keeper from crying “stop the steal.” In a series of emails, Finchem continues to fundraise (read: grift) off false accusations of fraud in the 2022 midterm.
There are some disappointments. Tom Horne is back as Superintendent of Public Instruction, beating out Kathy Hoffman in a devastating upset. Horne previously served as Superintendent from 2003 to 2011 and fought against multicultural education in Arizona schools, specifically targeting Tucson’s Mexican-American Studies classes. The racist law he helped to outline was eventually deemed unconstitutional, but Horne left a deep stain in Arizona schools. He also bragged about his fight against Mexican-American Studies classes on his website for superintendent (what he dubs “CRT”):
Days before the election, Horne again vowed to attack so-called “critical race theory” and bilingual education in schools.
“We're going to get critical race theory out of our schools. Then we're going to get social emotional learning, then we're going to get bilingual education out of our schools.”
Horne’s website also outlines his plans to target “critical race theory,” bilingual education, and “ethnic studies” classes, which he promises to “put an end” to. There has been much debate about the meaning of “critical race theory” and what politicians like Horne mean when they vow to eliminate traces of CRT from the classroom. The vagueness is the point and racists like Horne will use the fear mongering over the “CRT” panic to their advantage. In some states, that means firing a Black superintendent in a Moms for Liberty-backed political attack. In others it’s talks of eliminating bilingual education, an essential resource in a state like Arizona.
Horne’s campaign also faced controversy for employing, praising, defending, and accepting donations from David Stringer, a white supremacist former Arizona representative and convicted pedophile. Previously, Horne also had his own legal troubles, violating campaign finance laws.
As I previously covered for LCRW News, Horne’s opponent Kathy Hoffman has been the repeated target of anti-LGBTQ+ propagandist Chaya Raichik (online alias: Libs of TikTok). The Arizona Department of Education providing LGBTQ+ health resources for youth was sinisterly targeted by Raichik, just as she directed the attention of her hate mob towards the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and any Arizona school being too supportive of their LGBTQ+ students. Other anti-LGBTQ+ bigots now entering the school boards include Heather Rooks (Peoria Unified) and member of the III% Movement, Paul Alan Carver (Deer Valley).
“Tom Horne is now expected to flip the Arizona state superintendent from Democrat to Republican. He ran a simple policy-focused campaign opposing CRT, DEI, and ethnic studies,” cheered Heritage Foundation and anti-“CRT” propagandist Christopher Rufo.
Read More: Phoenix School Board Candidate is Registered Agent for III% Group, Led Anti-LGBTQ Campaign, Arizona LGBTQ+ and Drag Communities are Being Terrorized, Nobody’s Listening.
The Days Leading Up to the Election:
So why did Kari Lake fail to capture the governorship? Was it cozying up with the most hateful elected officials in Arizona including white supremacists Paul Gosar and Wendy Rogers? Was it telling the media the day before the election she was going to be our “worst nightmare”? Was it the QAnon shows? The never-ending Trump ass kissing? The armed far-right vigilantes patrolling ballot boxes?
In the final days before the midterm, Lake made no effort to tone down her extremism. With the help of the Daily Wire, Lake targeted the husband of Katie Hobbs for the crime of… providing healthcare services to his trans patients.
“I cannot exaggerate how despicable this attack from Kari Lake is. Are therapists now supposed to refuse care to trans people? Sick, twisted, and pathetic? She should never show her face in public for the rest of her life. I cover right-wing media narratives about LGBTQ people for a living. It takes a lot to shock me. But this did. Think for a moment of the implications of attacking a trauma therapist for even working with a trans person. They are not even hiding that they would prefer that we die,” said Ari Drennen, the LGBTQ Program Director for Media Matters for America.
ALSO READ: Paul Gosar says Kari Lake Might Order Military Blockade of Tribal Land
The day before the 2022 midterm, Board of Supervisor Chairman Bill Gates, Recorder Stephen Richer, Maricopa County sheriff Paul Penzone, and election directors Scott Jarrett and Rey Valenzuela held a press conference on the inevitable “False Election Narratives.”
Chairman Gates addressed several commonly repeated “false narratives” about the 2020 election and voting in general, including the lie that the election results are 100% counted by election night. Richer would also make a point to dispute this oft-repeated lie.
Earlier in the day, white supremacist-friendly Congressman Paul Gosar was already proving the need to pre-debunk these false claims.
“It shouldn't take days or weeks to count all legal votes in an election. It should take one day, and one day is all it took until very recently. Do not let the Left gaslight you into forgetting when our country's elections were normal and fair,” Rep. Gosar posted to Twitter.
Getting ahead of the MAGA lies helped to counter some of the narratives being thrown around on Election Day and the days following as votes were being counted.
The full hour press conference can be watched here:
On Election Day, barricades went up around the Maricopa County Tabulation and Elections Center (MCTEC). The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division was also monitoring the polls in 24 states, including Arizona’s Maricopa, Navajo, Pima, Pinal, and Yavapai county.
This “Victory Party” Blows:
On Election Day, the anti-democracy group “2020 is Nullified” called for protests at the Maricopa and Pima County Recorder’s Offices but reports on-the-ground from LCRW News show very little activity around the MCTEC on Election Night.
The official Republican Party “victory party” was just as exciting. A sea of media lined the ballroom at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch waiting for the republican candidates to give their speeches but after poor performances throughout the country, some never even showed their faces.
The GOP “victory party” cost up to $1000 a ticket, but you wouldn’t know it from the surroundings. Parking filled up immediately and the overdressed guests were forced miles off-site and then shuttled back to the resort. You could grab a free slice of buffet-style cardboard pizza but most packed the bar lines. Red, white, and blue balloons occasionally arched the walkways and the ceiling of the ballroom was lined with them, waiting for the big victory drop at the end of the night.
Turning Point USA’s Benny Johnson repeatedly took the stage. Rep. Andy Biggs and Kimberly Yee, both who secured their GOP wins, confidently took the stage. Biggs would mock the attempted assassination of Paul Pelosi. Other Turning Point influencers and politicians flooded the event - MAGA Hulk, Jon Root, Rep. Jake Hoffman, newly-elected Austin Smith, and “Brick Suit” all wandered around.
Kari Lake took the stage briefly and made excuses for why she was underperforming. Her voice sounded worn out and discouraged. A large chunk of disappointed fans left the Scottsdale resort after her sad, pathetic speech.
The Jumbotrons continued to play the results as other states called their races. Audible boos came from the audience when John Fetterman was projected to beat Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race. From there the GOP victory party only soured more.
“NOO, IT CAN’T BE,” a woman screamed when Fetterman’s projected win flashed across the Fox News screen.
More Arizona results trickled in. The final results wouldn’t be known for days later, but some projections were clear. Blake Masters was not doing well. Down about 17 points before he was set to take the stage.
Masters never ended up taking the stage. Instead, Attorney General candidate Abraham Hamadeh was forced on stage to bring back some encouragement.
It didn’t work.
The party was supposed to go until late into the night, but most were gone after Kari’s speech. People were confused if they should stay or go. By the end of the night, all that stuck around was media, Kari’s own team, and the Arizona Rangers patrolling the event. Rep. Jake Hoffman had the crowd boo the media, but by then, there was more media than crowd.
The red, white, and blue balloons stayed unceremoniously tethered to the ceiling.
Unsurprising; in the days following the election, Lake and company called foul as the race failed to go in her favor. The race never went in her favor and Lake, Blake, and Finchem never held a lead over their opponents, but don’t let that stop them from ever shutting the fuck up.
SEE: 'Box 3' and 'Maricopa County' are Trending Nationally on Twitter
SEE ALSO: New Election Day Conspiracies Are Already Running Wild
With a Lake, Blake, and Finchem loss now certain, the far-right grift-o-sphere has began to shift the narrative to “stolen election.” Of course, they’re still praying the close race between Hamadeh and Mayes pulls in their favor.
But some protests have generated. Outside the MCTEC on November 12, about 100 pro-Kari protesters rallied together to pray and march for Kari. One explicit neo-nazi with the American Nationalist Initiative showed up, as well as a local Boogaloo boi. The following day, a small group showed up outside the Phoenix Capitol continuing to protest the Arizona election.
Today on November 18, 10 days after the election, there were online calls for a “convoy”-style protest around the MCTEC. However, the 2020 energy has failed to generate with only 2-3 vehicles showing up. One was a sponsored video truck advertising the racist hate group, Riders USA and the failed HB2596, which sought to ban mail-in voting and completely overhaul Arizona elections.
Until next time!
Extra readings related to Arizona extremism:
Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting: Rule change opens new path for ‘constitutional sheriff’ group to train Arizona law enforcement
Left Coast Right Watch: A New Church for Racists: Inside the Church of Aryanity
Vice News: Meet the ‘Black Robe Regiment’ of Extremist Pastors Spreading Christian Nationalism