Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a Republican, has serious questions after a local news outlet declared her Democratic opponent the winner of the November 8 election.
During a news broadcast Thursday evening, Fox 10 published a widget showing Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs winning the race by a significant margin.
Fox 10 called the election for @KatieHobbs TWELVE DAYS before Election Day pic.twitter.com/z4WhcNKhRu
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 28, 2022
We’d all love to know why @FOX10Phoenix had a widget tonight on their broadcast declaring that Katie Hobbs won the election with a very specific number of votes? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/GqRwVLSJdG
— Andrew Clark (@AndrewHClark) October 28, 2022
According to Fox 10, the graphic was generated by the Associated Press and was a mistake.
This graphic was never meant to go on air — the numbers were only part of a test. The station has taken steps to make sure this cannot happen again.
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) October 28, 2022
The incident has prompted Arizona Republican Congressman Jake Hoffman to introduce legislation, citing election interference.
Rep. Jake Hoffman announces agenda to curb Media Interference in Elections
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 28, 2022
“This coming legislative session I will be introducing a bill to hold news outlets accountable should they interfere with Arizona’s election and/or disenfranchise Arizona voters like this in the future” pic.twitter.com/BJX7OwVLMW
Meanwhile, Lake is leading Hobbs in the polls with the election less than two weeks away.
🚨 ARIZONA GOVERNOR POLLING TRENDS By Insider Advantage
— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) October 26, 2022
October 11
(R) Kari Lake 49% (+3)
(D) Katie Hobbs 46%
October 25
(R) Kari Lake 54% (+11)
(D) Katie Hobbs 43%
✅ That's 𝟴 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 swing towards Kari Lake by the same pollster pic.twitter.com/q64syoXeXj