The battle for Arizona: Will election denialism prevail?

The race for the Arizona Senate seat has been decided, but the governor’s office is up for grabs in the Grand Canyon State. Whatever the outcome, it will have wide implications for 2024 and beyond.

Nov 12, 2022 - 22:00

The battle for Arizona: Will election denialism prevail?

Since 2020, when Arizona flipped for Biden, thoughts of the swing state have festered in the minds of election deniers. And now, once again, the election there is careening towards an uncertain finish. While the predictions of a scorching red wave sweeping the country have fizzled — and Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly has defeated Republican Blake Masters — only several thousand votes separate gubernatorial candidates in the battle for Arizona.

But more than a governorship is at stake in Arizona, which became a hotbed for misinformation in 2020 and beyond. There, whoever ends up in the governor’s mansion could either work to normalize false claims of a Trump win on a grander stage, or finally put it all to rest. Either way, what happens in Arizona will likely have wide implications in the 2024 election, which may see President Biden and former President Donald Trump in a rematch.

Republican Kari Lake, the one-time newscaster who unabashedly ties her race to what she describes as a stolen presidential election, has become Trump’s brightest star in an otherwise disappointing midterm season for the MAGA GOP. While Arizona’s Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs held a mighty lead in the polls throughout the campaign, Lake has been able to chip away to a near-even match-up after Election Day. Now, as the votes are being counted, the question becomes: Will enough voters galvanize behind Lake to propel her to the governor's office? Or could this be the last stand of election denialism in the country?