Arizona secretary of state and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs is desperate. Her Hail Mary throw in the waning days of the 2022 cycle was akin to some pathetic exercise to remind voters there’s a Democrat on the ballot.
Last week, there was a break-in at her campaign headquarters where Hobbs, without evidence, accused Republican opponent Kari Lake of inspiring the burglary. The media ran with it, but Lake is just too good at slapping down narratives.
For example, when Lake was recently asked about being an "election denier," she shut it down by sharing statements dating back to 2000 from a slew of high-profile Democrats who questioned our elections where Republicans won. With Hobbs hiding in the bunker, even refusing to take questions about the break-in, Lake trots out there and torches the media over how their narrative about this event aged like milk. The culprit who broke into Hobbs’ campaign office was arrested, and there’s no evidence that the attack was politically motivated (via RealClearPolitics):
Welcome, we're happy you're here. We know the world is watching us... We had an amazing event last night, an evening with first responders and law enforcement. Men and women who put their lives on the line every single day... and while this was happening, my desperate opponent (who is sinking like a lead weight in water) pulled a stunt, and you guys fell for it.
She put out a defamatory statement and you all ran with it. You didn't do your journalistic duty. it was a malpractice of journalism like I've never seen before. It was an effort, I believe, to influence this election. Many of you are an arm of the Democrat Party Many of you are propagandists. And almost all of you should be ashamed.
Yesterday, my Democrat opponent put out a statement while I was meeting with police officers and firefighters, working to make sure that our state is safe, she's pulling stunts and you guys are falling hook, line, and sinker for them. She put out a statement about a petty theft that took place at her office. She knew darn well I had nothing to do with it, so she puts a statement out, and right away, your gatekeepers over at the Arizona Democratic Party jumped on it and put a statement out, which was the cue to you to go ahead and start running with it.
NBC News, an arm of the Democrat Party, was the first to start reporting on it. And then we get this from Newsy, whatever that is, "Gubernatorial candidate's campaign headquarter broken into."
You guys spread this like wildfire. And then The Guardian, overseas, "Campaign HQ Broken Into," Watergate, oh my goodness.
She knows how to counterpunch, especially on the narratives where the liberal media can mount no defense because they’re wrong. There are no shades of gray or nuance—nothing politically motivated about the Hobbs campaign office incident.
.@KariLake to the Fake News: “You don’t care about the facts… you’ll cover the lie, you’ll spread it all over the world over and over and over again. And that is how fake news is spread.” pic.twitter.com/82Esplzfd0
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 27, 2022
.@KariLake: “Who know who I’m fighting against? The press. The disgusting propagandists that are trying to sway an election. This is gonna be one of the darkest days in modern day journalism, it really is.” pic.twitter.com/BHLLu118Y4
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 27, 2022
Lake has been making the most of her free media opportunities, leading to an impressive poll surge. Recent surveys have Lake ahead, including liberal polls—Data for Progress has her leading Hobbs by four points. Most attempts to smear Lake as a crank have been mitigated by her two-decade career as a television journalist; Arizona voters are familiar with Lake. Hobbs’ antics could have been avoided if she had just agreed to debate Lake, but it’s too late for that, and the Arizona Democrat most likely would have been eviscerated on the stage.
Democrats, you nominated an atrocious candidate for whatever reason, and now you can’t do much with her.