Kari Lake was pressed Wednesday by Democratic rival Ruben Gallego to declare whether she won or lost the 2022 gubernatorial election during their Senate debate in Arizona.
The Republican tried to back out of his response in a way that caught the attention of social media. (Watch the video and reactions to X below.)
Lake has strongly denied Donald Trump’s 2020 defeat and her own legitimate loss to Katie Hobbs in 2022. She is now running against Gallego for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by independent Kyrsten Sinema.
Gallego mentioned strategies for dealing with drought that Lake “should be doing, but she is denying climate change.”
He continued, “But we shouldn’t be surprised. She’s still denying the 2022 election and now I’m giving you one minute, you have one minute. Will you finally say to the people of Arizona: did you win or lose that election?
Lake did not answer the question and instead asked the moderator, “Can I talk about water really quickly?”
The moderator responded: “Please talk about water.”
“Let’s talk about water,” Lake said.
Gallego: She denies the 2022 election. I’ll give you one minute. Do you want to finally tell the people of Arizona whether you won or lost the election? pic.twitter.com/KZOi5GSJbM
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2024
It was no surprise that Lake, who as a congressman criticized Gallego’s water policies, dodged the question. Gallego has a significant lead in many polls, so perhaps Lake is trying to avoid negative talk about her many failed challenges to overturn the results of her previous race.
She was also sued by a Maricopa County election official for defamation after she accused him of sabotaging the 2022 election.
People on X commented:
Gallego gets her excited, and honestly, it’s about time! 😏
It is bizarre that some politicians still cannot face the facts.
Will she ever get clean, or is it all just smoke and mirrors? Let’s stop the games and get real, Arizona!— Jayla Bun ❤️ (@Jaylabun) October 10, 2024
Ruben Gallego: “Do you want to finally say to the people of Arizona: did you win or lose that election?”
Kari Lake: “Can I talk about water really quickly?” 🤣
Kari Lake is toast. pic.twitter.com/LTiu5giMAL
– Republicans Against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) October 10, 2024
.@RubenGallego: “She’s still in denial about the 2022 election. Will you finally tell Arizonans whether you won or lost that election?@KariLake: “Can I talk about water really quickly?”
A complete disaster for Kari Lake in tonight’s debate.pic.twitter.com/Hdx3WE4CJ3
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) October 10, 2024
This is not a difficult question.
— Steward Beckham 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@iTweetyNerd) October 10, 2024
MAGA comes from men and women constantly posting “Tampon Tim” and Kari Lake saying “can we talk about water real quick?”
This doesn’t bode well for MAGA.
— Utah Girl Chronicles 🌼🌺🦋💐🖌️☮️🌊 Support writers (@buddywriterdude) October 10, 2024
