(Bloomberg) — A judge in Arizona rejected a bid by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to throw out the results of the November election she lost, calling her claims of misconduct by election workers “speculation” that she had failed to prove.
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During a two-day hearing that ended Thursday, Lake’s attorneys claimed that misconduct by election officials and technical problems with ballot printers in Maricopa County, the state’s largest, swayed the election in Democratic governor-elect Katie Hobbs’ favor. Hobbs beat Lake in the Nov. 8 election by 17,000 votes.
In a 10-page ruling Saturday, Arizona Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson acknowledged “the anger and frustration of voters who were subjected to inconvenience and confusion at voter centers as technical problems arose during the 2022 General Election.”
But he said even Lake’s witnesses conceded they had no proof of the misconduct she alleged.
“Every single witness before the Court disclaimed any personal knowledge of such misconduct,” the judge wrote. “The Court cannot accept speculation or conjecture in place of clear and convincing evidence.”
Hobbs’ campaign welcomed the result.
“The voters of Arizona – not the conspiracy-riddled dark corners of the Internet — are the ones who choose our leaders,” campaign manager Nicole Demont said in a statement Saturday. “We’re pleased that the courts have upheld the will of the voters.”
Lake, who rose to prominence this year as one of former President Donald Trump’s highest-profile proxies in the midterm election, said her case provided “evidence” and that she’ll appeal.
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