- Kari Lake, former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate, has challenged her defeat to Governor Katie Hobbs in 2022 and cited a new Rasmussen Reports poll
- She asked the Arizona state Supreme Court to hear her case following losses in the lower courts
- Hobbs defeated Lake by more than 17,000 votes and was sworn in as governor on January 2.
Former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake has touted a new poll as she continues to challenge her defeat in the 2022 election to Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs.
Lake pointed to new polling from Rasmussen Reports that found 51 percent of Arizona voters who said they had voted in the governor's race had cast their ballots for Lake, while 43 percent said they had voted for Hobbs.
The Republican has asked the Arizona state Supreme Court to hear her case challenging the 2022 election after the Arizona Court of Appeals rejected Lake's lawsuit on February 16. Her case focuses on alleged irregularities in Maricopa County.
The poll was conducted among 1,001 Arizona likely voters by Rasmussen Reports and College Republicans United from March 13 to 14 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
"Of the 92% of Arizona voters who say they voted in the 2022 election, the new survey found 51% voted for Lake and 43% voted for Hobbs, while five percent (5%) say they voted for some other candidate," Rasmussen Reports reported on its website on Friday.
Rasmussen Reports enjoys a B rating from poll tracker FiveThirtyEight and their polls are included in the site's polling averages, such as their analysis of President Joe Biden's approval rating.
The poll also found that 55 percent of likely Arizona voters "believe it is likely that problems with the 2022 election in Maricopa County" affected the outcome of the gubernatorial election.
Lake shared a tweet from former President Donald Trump's spokesperson Liz Harrington on Friday that featured the poll and the former gubernatorial candidate wrote: "The Red Wave happened in Arizona. They had to cheat and lie to install their frauds in office. We the People will never go away. We demand honest elections."
She also shared a video on Twitter where she discussed the poll with former White House adviser Steve Bannon on the conservative network Real America's Voice and reiterated her belief that she was the rightful winner of the election.
"My thoughts are, the red wave did happen," Lake told Bannon. "They had to cheat, they had to sabotage election day, they had to go a way out of their way to stop it here in Arizona and everyone knows it. This just verifies it."
Lake added that she also learned from the poll that "people do understand that our elections are rigged and corrupt and it is an issue they care about," while going on to defend her challenge to the 2022 election.
Later in their conversation, Bannon asked Lake if she was the legitimate governor of Arizona and she replied, "I am" before noting that the Arizona state Supreme Court is due to meet on Tuesday and consider whether to take up her case.
"I hope they see the results of this poll and will realize that this is an issue they have to take up," Lake said. "They can't allow that ridiculous, outrageous ruling by the lower judge in the lower court to stand or they will be giving their stamp of approval on the most fraudulent election we've ever seen in this country."
In its ruling on February 16, the Arizona Court of Appeals said Lake's claims were "quite simply, sheer speculation" and that a cybersecurity witness called by the Republican to testify for her said the ballots couldn't be read at polling places because of printing issues with the tabulations were eventually counted.
The court ruled that Lake had failed to provide evidence that any election day issues cost her the gubernatorial race and that "voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results."
Lake filed an appeal with the state's supreme court on March 1, which she had promised to do if she failed in the lower courts. Hobbs defeated Lake by more than 17,000 votes and was sworn in as governor on January 2.
She brought her case before the appeals court after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson threw out her lawsuit in December 2022 because Lake failed to provide any "clear and convincing" evidence of irregularities or misconduct that cost her the election.
Newsweek has reached out to Kari Lake's team for comment via email.
