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United StatesTrump protégé fails to be governor of Arizona
Trump candidate Kari Lake, who hoped to become governor of Arizona, was defeated by Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs. A slap for the former Republican president.
Kari Lake in Scottsdale, Arizona on November 8, 2022.
AFP extension
Donald Trump-backed Republican nominee Kari Lake failed to win the Arizona gubernatorial seat on Monday, according to media reports, in another high-profile setback for the former president due to announce his presidential bid of 2024 Tuesday.
After a close and tense competition in this key state, Democrat Katie Hobbs has won on a tightrope against this emblematic figure of Trumpism, according to CNN and NBC.
Kari Lake, convinced that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Donald Trump – despite the lack of evidence – had refused to clarify that she would accept the result of her ballot. For any reaction, the hapless candidate tweeted Monday night, “Arizonanese know when they’re being scammed.”
For his part, the former president immediately denounced the validity of the vote on his Truth Social. “Wow! They just stole the election from Kari Lake. This is really bad!”
This 53-year-old woman, who claims the nickname “Trump in a petticoat” that the left has decked out for her, was one of the standout figures of the campaign. She was seen as one of the Republican lieutenants during the midterm elections, which took place on Nov. 8.
The former Fox News local anchor had turned her television notoriety into political capital, cultivating the image of a grace-stricken rebel who shed the “corrupt media.” Immigration, crime, decline… this mother of two had taken up all the themes of her mentor.
Her radicalism had earned her the title of “threat to democracy” by a large part of the American press, which already imagined her as a possible vice president of Donald Trump in 2024.
Presidential
Nearly a week after voting took place, the full results of the midterm elections have yet to be known: control of the House of Representatives, for example, remains an unknown. But “democracy is worth the wait,” proclaimed Democrat and future governor Katie Hobbs on Twitter Monday night.
Arizona’s secretary of state, responsible for organizing elections, found herself in the spotlight during the 2020 presidential election, in which her state played an important role. Katie Hobbs had in particular confided that she had received threats after the publication of the results, tirelessly contested by Donald Trump and his supporters.
Kari Lake’s defeat is bad news for the real estate mogul, who didn’t bring the election season the glory he hoped for.
Donald Trump has been personally involved in these votes, double-crossing candidates who swear absolute loyalty to him. But the Republican Party, which wanted to see a conservative wave sweep through the US Congress, didn’t do as it thought.
Democrats thwarted poll predictions and successfully retained control of the Senate. And in the House, if the right seems well on its way to capturing the majority, it could be short-lived. Above all, many of the billionaire’s colts have disappointed, weakening his position. Especially as he faces competition from Ron DeSantis, the triumphantly re-elected governor of Florida, who is rumored to have presidential ambitions.
Donald Trump, who promised a “very important announcement” on Tuesday, is likely to formalize his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election.
(AFP extension)
