Republican Kari Lake appeared to acknowledge her U.S. Senate loss Wednesday night in a video message on social media in which she thanked her supporters but did not mention the outcome of the race or congratulate U.S. Sen.-elect Ruben Gallego.
The 2:30-minute message featured Lake in her familiar home studio welcoming the incoming Trump administration. It notes the obstacles Lake’s campaign faced and is an appreciation for those who supported her.
“As for me, I can say with certainty that the truth will always be important to me,” she said. “You will never stop being important to me. These memories we made together will never go away. They will grow sweeter over time, and I will never stop fighting for the state I love.”
Gallego’s campaign confirmed that Lake had not given permission to abandon the race as of Wednesday evening.
Still, the message provided a coda of sorts that never came to Gov. Katie Hobbs after her 2022 gubernatorial loss and was in line with Lake’s declaration to reporters on Election Day that she would accept the results of the election.
As of Wednesday evening, Lake Gallego trailed by nearly 73,000 votes, with about 120,000 still to be counted.
Lake, a former Fox 10 news anchor, opened her video by noting that her decades appeared on Phoenix TVs and then promptly attacked the media.
“I walked away from a seven-figure contract in fake news because I couldn’t lie to you,” she said. “What good is money if it comes at the expense of your soul? It made me sick to spread the government’s COVID story.”
Lake said the Bible gave her the courage to leave her career, and public demand led her to try politics.
She said the “journey we have been on together” has been challenging and rewarding.
“They threw everything at us: fake news, hundreds of millions of dollars and the most vicious attacks. Through it all, you never wavered, and I can’t thank you enough for that.”
By mid-October, Lake’s campaign was $2.4 million in debt.
She has spent two years fighting in court to overturn her 2022 loss and still has a lawsuit to settle.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican, sued her for defamation over her baseless claims about election failures. She has not disputed his allegations and will return to court to determine how much, if any, she is owed for damages in the case.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake thanks supporters, doesn’t mention Ruben Gallego, her future
