PHOENIX —
A top Republican election official in Arizona filed a defamation lawsuit Thursday against fellow Republican Kari Lake, who falsely claims that she lost the 2022 race for governor because of fraud.
Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer said that he has faced “violent vitriol and other dire consequences” — including death threats and the loss of friendships — because of lies spread by Lake.
“Rather than accept political defeat, rather than get a new job, she has sought to undermine confidence in our elections and has mobilized millions of her followers against me,” Richer wrote in an opinion piece in the Arizona Republic.
Lake is a former Phoenix television news anchor who quickly built an enthusiastic political following as a loyal supporter of former President Trump and his lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. She went on to narrowly lose her own race for Arizona governor last year along with a lawsuit challenging the results.
Despite her losses in court, she continues to claim that Richer and other Maricopa County officials interfered in the election to prevent her from winning.
A spokesperson for Lake did not immediately respond to a request for comment. She is openly considering a run for U.S. Senate and is a leading contender to be Trump’s running mate in his 2024 presidential campaign.
April 6, 2023
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