Kari Lake was pressed by Democratic rival Ruben Gallego to declare whether she won or lost the 2022 gubernatorial election during their Arizona Senate debate on Wednesday.
The Republican squirmed out of answering in a way that caught social media’s attention. (Watch the video and responses on X below.)
Lake has vigorously denied Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020 and her own legitimate loss to Katie Hobbs in 2022. She is now battling Gallego for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by independent Kyrsten Sinema.
Gallego mentioned drought-coping strategies Lake “should be doing, but she’s in denial about climate change.”
He continued, “But we should not be surprised. She’s still in denial about the 2022 election and now I give you one minute, you have one minute. Will you finally tell 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 replied, “Please talk about water.”
“Let’s talk about water,” Lake said.
Gallego: She is in denial about the 2022 election. I’ll give you one minute. Will you finally tell the people of Arizona did you win or lose that election? pic.twitter.com/KZOi5GSJbM
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 10, 2024
It was no surprise that Lake, who went on to criticize Gallego’s water policies as a congressman, evaded the question. Gallego holds a sizable lead in many polls, so perhaps Lake is trying to avoid negative chatter 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 had comments:
Gallego’s putting her on blast, and honestly, it’s about time! 😏
It’s wild how some politicians still can’t own up to the facts.
Will she ever come 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: “Will you finally tell 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 the people of Arizona did you win or loss that election?@KariLake: “Can I talk about water really quickly?”
Utter disaster for Kari Lake in tonight’s debate.pic.twitter.com/Hdx3WE4CJ3
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) October 10, 2024
This isn’t a hard question.
— Steward Beckham 🇺🇸🇺🇦 (@iTweetyNerd) October 10, 2024
MAGA is down to men and women posting “Tampon Tim” constantly and Kari Lake saying “can we talk about water really quickly?”
This doesn’t bode well for MAGA.
— Utah Girl Chronicles 🌼🌺🦋💐🖌️☮️🌊 Support Writers (@buddywriterdude) October 10, 2024