Appellate Court Review of Kari Lake’s Election Challenge Doesn’t Go Well

Failed Trump-backed Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake faced a tough day in appellate court on Thursday as judges in Tucson reviewed her election challenge from 2022. Arizona legal analysts Paul Weich and Tom Ryan reported that Lake’s attorney, Kurt Olsen, struggled to make a convincing case before the three-judge panel.

Olsen was repeatedly challenged to explain why the trial judge erred in dismissing the case, but he seemed to misunderstand the role of the appeals court. The judges reminded him that they could only decide whether old evidence was considered correctly, not introduce new evidence. Despite this, Olsen tried to bring up “newly discovered evidence,” which the court viewed with skepticism.

One judge questioned Olsen’s claim that the trial judge disregarded the evidence, asking for proof to support this assertion. Additionally, Olsen attempted to argue that the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which has a GOP majority, unfairly tipped the scales against Republicans in the election. This argument echoed Lake’s ongoing refusal to accept her loss to Katie Hobbs as legitimate, instead claiming the race was stolen.

The Republican-dominated state Supreme Court has declined to review the matter due to a lack of evidence supporting Lake’s claims. One of Lake’s grievances was the occurrence of glitches in election day tabulators in Phoenix-area precincts, although these issues did not impact the counting of votes.

Despite Lake’s continued challenges, it appears that her election challenge is facing an uphill battle in the courts. Watch the full oral argument to see how the proceedings unfolded.