Hobbs, Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, narrowly eked out her win against Lake, a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, flipping the governorship to Democrats’ control. After losing by only about 17,000 votes, Lake has refused to concede the election and earlier in December filed a lawsuit in an effort to overturn the results.
Lake has pointed to Election Day issues, including voting machine glitches, to argue that GOP voters—who are less likely to use early voting—were disproportionately disenfranchised during the midterms. In her lawsuit, she said voting irregularities “nullify” the result, meaning Lake should be declared the winner or a new election should be held.
However, Arizona election officials have maintained the integrity of the state’s elections, and evidence has not been presented to prove there was any fraud.
Bobb, who has denied President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win, said litigation could last for weeks during an appearance on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Friday.
This means it would last further than Hobbs’ inauguration, which is scheduled for January 5. However, Bobb said she believes Republicans could still hold the governor’s office even if Hobbs is inaugurated.
“I don’t know what they’ll do with the inauguration. I don’t expect this to be wrapped up by the 2nd. But I know that there is case history in Arizona where someone was inaugurated and then the contest was successful, and that governor was removed from office,” Bobb said. “So there is history for this.”
Bobb appeared to be referring to the case of Thomas Campbell, who was initially declared to be the victor in Arizona’s 1917 gubernatorial race. However, a court later sided with his opponent, George Hunt, who challenged the election results. Campbell was then removed from office after serving for less than a year.
Bobb added that she is “not too worried” about whether Hobbs gets inaugurated, as she believes Lake stands a chance at winning her lawsuit.
“As long as Kari Lake wins her contest, she’ll be inaugurated,” Bobb said.
Hobbs has condemned Lake’s lawsuit, writing in a statement earlier this month on her website: “Arizonans made their voices heard and elected Katie Hobbs as their governor. No nuisance lawsuit will change that, and we remain laser-focused on getting ready to hit the ground running on Day One of Katie Hobbs’ administration next year.”
Lake on Saturday, while speaking at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, doubled down on her stolen election claims.
“To watch them steal this in broad daylight and if they think they are going to get away with it, they messed with the wrong b****. OK?” she said.
Newsweek reached out to the Hobbs and Lake campaigns for comment.
