That’s been especially true in Maricopa County, where the board of supervisors and county recorder have been the subject of violent threats over their roles in administering the 2020 and 2022 elections. As recently as Tuesday, someone was sent to prison for making threats against the Maricopa County Elections Department.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post released an analysis tracing the origin of that election “interference” rancor. The newspaper tracked the social media posts of current candidates for elected office across the country — with Trump himself excepted — to see who “posted or amplified a range of falsehoods or misinformation about election malfeasance.”
Who’s the queen of election interference claims? Why, it’s none other than Arizona’s own Kari Lake. And it’s not even close.
And the winner is .... Kari Lake. https://t.co/wEYhbqwzpE pic.twitter.com/UYUnQM30IQ
— Brahm Resnik (@brahmresnik) October 23, 2024
The Republican Senate candidate — and failed 2022 candidate for governor — has posted more than 250 times about election interference in the 2024 election. In second place with roughly 150 posts each were Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Elise Stefanik of New York, two notable extreme right-wing members of Congress. The only other Senate candidate in the Post’s top 10 is Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted more than 100 times about election interference conspiracies.
The Lake campaign did not respond to Phoenix New Times’ request for comment on the analysis.
The Post’s analysis covers the period from Nov. 9, 2022, to Oct. 11 of this year. It categorized posts by various topics, including noncitizen voting, Trump’s court cases and falsely calling Kamala Harris’ elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket a “coup” to oust Biden. One of Lake’s tweets, an August missive about Harris’ “stolen nomination,” was included as an example of the latter.
Given Lake’s dismal poll numbers — and especially given her terrible record trying election cases in court, including losing a defamation case brought by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer — she might want to start singing a different tune.
