Arizona’s Republican nominees for three statewide roles filed a lawsuit contesting the state’s election results after each lost to their Democratic opponent with very close margins.
Kari Lake, who ran for governor, Mark Finchem, who ran for Secretary of State, and Abe Hamadeh, who ran for state attorney general, filed separate lawsuits contesting their respective races on Friday (December 9).
Lake — who lost to Arizona’s Secretary of State
Katie Hobbs by 0.6 percent — sued Hobbs and Maricopa County election officials, claiming “illegal votes” cast during the midterms exceed the 17,000-vote lead Hobbs has over Lake.
Lake’s lawsuit also asserts more than 130 voting centers of the state’s 223 voting centers experienced printer errors, a claim that contrasts the state’s statement that only 70 polling places experienced an issue.
Finchem, who didn’t secure the role of Secretary of State after losing to Democrat Adrian Fontes by five points, was joined in his lawsuit by Jeff Zink, the Republican candidate for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional district.
Finchem and Zink filed a lawsuit against Fontes, Hobbs, and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
Zink lost to Gallego in the race to represent the state’s 3rd Congressional District.
Hamadeh, who lost to Democrat Kris Mayes by 511 votes, filed a lawsuit alongside the Republican National Congress (RNC) last month. But a state judge dismissed it, noting such filings could only be made after the election was certified.
Friday, Hamadeh refiled the lawsuit against Hobbs and each of Arizona’s counties’ election recorders and board of supervisors.
