On Monday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter A. Thompson dismissed the only legal claim pending in Republican Kari Lake's challenge to her defeat in last year's Arizona gubernatorial election. In the end, it was Democrat Katie Hobbs who emerged victorious. Judge Thompson said Lake failed to prove her claim that Maricopa County did not verify the signatures on mail-in ballots as required by law.
Lake was one of former President Donald Trump's strongest supporters in regards to his claim about election fraud, which she made the centerpiece of her campaign. In doing so, Lake has built a loyal following of Trump supporters and is seriously considering running for the Senate seat now occupied by Kyrsten Sinema, an independent and former Democrat. She is also often mentioned as a possible Trump vice presidential candidate.
After losing to Hobbs by about 17,000 votes, Kari Lake filed a lawsuit asking the courts to recognize her victory or order a new election. Thompson dismissed the case, but the Arizona Supreme Court revived a lawsuit challenging how signature verification procedures were used in early voting in Maricopa County, where more than 60% of the state's voters reside. Officials defended their signature verification process and claimed they had nothing to hide.
However, Lake's lawyers argued that there was evidence that lower-level officials who found inconsistencies in signatures referred them up the chain of command, where they were disregarded by higher-level verifiers.
