Most Talked-About Controversies Linked to Kari Lake

Controversies are a part of history. Explore the biggest scandals linked to Kari Lake.

Kari Lake is an American political figure and former television news anchor. She served as special advisor to the US Agency for Global Media starting in 2025. Lake was the Republican nominee for Arizona governor in 2022 and for US Senate in Arizona in 2024, losing both elections.

Sections (5)

Full Timeline Early Life & Education Career & Achievements Challenges & Struggles Controversies & Scandals

2015: Supported Right to Gender Transition

In 2015, Lake stated on social media that she supported an adult's and young person's right to gender transition, but later reversed that position.

2017: Posted meme on Facebook

Nine days before the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, Lake had posted a meme on Facebook that declared the inauguration a "national day of mourning and protest", in which she asked her followers how they would react to Trump's inauguration.

2018: Opposition to Red for Ed Movement

In 2018, Kari Lake opposed the Red for Ed movement and later apologized for her statement regarding the movement.

July 2019: Promotion of Parler Account

In July 2019, Kari Lake was caught on "hot mic" footage promoting her account on the web platform Parler.

April 2020: Shared COVID-19 Misinformation

In April 2020, Kari Lake shared COVID-19 misinformation on Twitter and Facebook.

2020: Baseless Claims about Election

During her 2021 campaign for governor, she said that she would not have certified Biden's 2020 election victory in Arizona if she had been governor at the time.

2020: Promotion of False Claims

In 2020, Kari Lake's campaign was marked by various controversies, including promoting false claims of Trump winning the 2020 presidential election.

2020: False claims about Presidential Election

Lake claimed President Joe Biden did not receive 81 million votes and that Arizona (which was won by Biden in the 2020 presidential election) was actually won by Trump.

August 2021: Anti-Mask Rallies

In August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kari Lake led anti-mask rallies, calling on Arizona State University students to go against the university's mask mandates.

November 2021: Hydroxychloroquine Use and Stance on Mandates

In November 2021, Kari Lake told a group of Republican retirees that she was taking hydroxychloroquine to prevent COVID-19 infection and stated she would not tolerate mask and vaccine mandates as governor.

2021: Demanded Election Decertification

After the 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit found no evidence of election fraud, she demanded the election be "decertified".

April 2022: Lake and Finchem Sue State Officials

In April 2022, Lake and Mark Finchem sued state officials, seeking to ban electronic voting machines from being used in her 2022 election.

June 2022: Baseless Claims of Stolen Election

During a June 2022 debate among candidates for the Republican nomination, Lake continued to make baseless claims the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" and "corrupt".

June 2022: Praised Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization

In June 2022, Lake praised the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which held that there was no federal right to abortion under the U.S. Constitution, and overturned Roe v. Wade.

July 2022: Fox News Report on Facebook Post

In July 2022, Fox News reported that nine days before the 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump, Lake had posted a meme on Facebook that declared the inauguration a "national day of mourning and protest".

August 2022: Suit Dismissed by Judge Tuchi

In August 2022, U.S. District Judge John Tuchi dismissed the suit, stating that Lake and Finchem lacked standing.

October 2022: Appeal Rejected by Ninth Circuit

In October 2022, Finchem and Lake's appeal, aimed at banning electronic voting machines, was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

October 2022: Refusal to Commit to Accepting Election Result

In October 2022, Kari Lake twice refused to say that she will accept the result if she lost the election: "I'm going to win the election, and I will accept that result."

November 7, 2022: Campaign Office Incident

On November 7, 2022, Lake's campaign stated that on November 6, a campaign staffer "opened an envelope delivered to our campaign office that contained suspicious white powder. It was one of two envelopes that were confiscated by law enforcement" for testing.

December 9, 2022: Lake Files Suit Seeking to Overturn Election Results

On December 9, 2022, after Arizona certified the election results, Lake filed a new suit in state court, seeking a court order to either overturn Hobbs' victory or redo the election in Maricopa County.

December 2022: Lake's Lawyers Sanctioned

In December 2022, Judge Tuchi sanctioned Lake's lawyers for making false and unsupported assertions, ordering them to pay the defendants' attorney fees.

December 2022: Lake Identifies as "Proud Election Denying Deplorable"

In December 2022, Kari Lake self-identified as a "proud election denying deplorable".

January 2023: Analysis of Lake's Post-Election Funds

In January 2023, the Arizona Mirror found that less than 10% of the funds raised by Lake after the election were paid to lawyers, despite Lake claiming the funds were for contesting election results.

January 2023: Analysis of Arizona Election Results

In January 2023, the Audit Guys analyzed the election data and found that over 33,000 Republican voters in Maricopa County voted for Hobbs instead of Lake, and nearly 6,000 Republican-leaning voters did not vote in the gubernatorial election or wrote in another candidate. They concluded that these voters could have flipped the result of the election had they voted for Lake.

January 2023: Lake Posts Voter Signatures and False Claim on Twitter

Later in January 2023, Lake posted voter signatures on Twitter, suggesting they were from illegal ballots. She also falsely claimed that almost 250,000 voting attempts failed during the 2022 Arizona elections, without proving the votes were not counted.

February 2023: Claims About Election Fairness

In February 2023, Kari Lake said that if elections were really fair, Republicans would dominate Congress, the Senate, the White House, and state governorships.

February 2023: Associated Press Survey on Arizona Voters

In February 2023, the Associated Press reported that a survey estimated that 11% of Arizona Republicans voted for Hobbs, while 4% of Arizona Democrats voted for Lake.

February 16, 2023: Lake's Appeal Rejected by Arizona Court of Appeals

On February 16, 2023, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Lake's appeal.

March 2023: Recording of Lake and DeWit Conversing

In March 2023, a recording of Kari Lake and Jeff DeWit conversing was published by right-wing talk show host Garret Lewis. In the recording, DeWit told Lake that powerful people wanted to keep her out of the 2024 Arizona Senate race and were willing to offer her money to pause for a couple of years. Lake responded that she "can't be bought."

March 22, 2023: Arizona Supreme Court Denies Hearing Lake's Lawsuit

On March 22, 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court denied Lake's request to hear her lawsuit, ruling that the lower courts had correctly dismissed six of her seven legal claims.

April 2023: Lake Sued Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer

In April 2023, Kari Lake initiated a lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, aiming to compel the release of 1.3 million ballot affidavit envelopes, which contained voters' signatures, names, addresses, and phone numbers.

April 2023: Independent Investigation Results on Printing Problems

In April 2023, the results of an independent investigation into the 2022 election's printing problems were published. The investigation concluded that the primary cause of the failures was equipment failure.

May 2023: Arizona Supreme Court Sanctions Lake's Lawyers

In May 2023, the Arizona Supreme Court imposed a $2,000 fine on Lake's lawyers for making false factual statements to the Court.

May 22, 2023: Judge Rules Against Lake in Remaining Claim

After a three-day trial, on May 22, 2023, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against Lake for her remaining claim on signature verification, re-affirming Hobbs' election.

June 2023: Maricopa County Recorder Sues Lake for Defamation

In June 2023, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer sued Lake for defamation, alleging that she accused him of sabotaging the 2022 election. Richer claimed that Lake's statements caused threats against him and his family.

July 2023: Motion Denied to Appeal Directly to Arizona Supreme Court

In July 2023, Lake tried to appeal directly to the Arizona Supreme Court, which denied her motion to do so, citing "no good cause".

September 2023: Trial in Lawsuit Against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer

In September 2023, the trial for Kari Lake's lawsuit against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer took place in Maricopa County Superior Court.

November 2023: Reaffirmed Support for 1864 Abortion Ban

In November 2023, Kari Lake reaffirmed her support for the 1864 abortion ban in Arizona.

November 2023: Court Ruled Against Lake in Maricopa County Lawsuit

In November 2023, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah ruled against Kari Lake in her lawsuit against Maricopa County. The court cited risks of voter fraud, harassment, and identity theft as reasons for denying the release of voters' personal information.

December 2023: Judge Denies Lake's Motion to Dismiss Defamation Suit

In December 2023, a Maricopa County judge denied Lake's motion to dismiss the defamation suit, ruling that her statements were not protected by the First Amendment if proven false.

January 2024: Lake Publicly Called for Arizona Republican Party Chair Jeff DeWit to Resign

In January 2024, Kari Lake publicly called for the resignation of Arizona Republican Party chair Jeff DeWit for being "corrupt and compromised," leading to his resignation a day later.

February 2024: Lake Questions 2022 Election Claims

In February 2024, Lake was questioned about her claims about the 2022 gubernatorial election, replying she didn't know who stole the election but that there were a lot of people running elections poorly.

March 2024: Appeal to Supreme Court

In March 2024, Finchem and Lake appealed to the United States Supreme Court regarding the banning of electronic voting machines.

March 2024: Lake Abandoned Appeal of Hannah's Ruling

In March 2024, Kari Lake abandoned her appeal of Judge Hannah's ruling against her in the Maricopa County lawsuit.

March 2024: Lake Requests Default Judgment Against Herself

In March 2024, Lake requested a hearing for a default judgment against herself in the defamation case, deciding not to contest the defamation claim.

March 2024: Lake Denounced the 1864 Anti-Abortion Law

In early 2024, Kari Lake shifted positions; her website said that she "does not support a federal ban on abortion" and in a March 2024 interview she denounced the 1864 anti-abortion law. Lake instead supported Arizona's abortion restriction after 15 weeks.

April 11, 2024: Lake Said the Law was 'Out of Step with Arizonans'

On April 11, 2024, after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of enforcing the 1864 territorial law, Kari Lake stated that the law was "out of step with Arizonans" and urged Arizonan legislators to "come up with an immediate common sense solution that Arizonans can support"; she described abortion as "a personal and private issue."

April 2024: Supreme Court Rejects Lawsuit

In April 2024, the United States Supreme Court rejected Finchem and Lake's lawsuit regarding electronic voting machines.

April 20, 2024: Lake Changed Position Again, Returning to Supporting the 1864 Law

On April 20, 2024, Lake changed her position again, returning to her earlier position of supporting the 1864 law, after Governor of Arizona Katie Hobbs and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes indicated that they would not prosecute offenders of the 1864 law.

June 2024: Ninth Circuit Denies Appeal

In June 2024, Finchem and Lake appealed again to the Ninth Circuit, which tersely denied the appeal.

June 2024: Lake's Appeal Rejected by Arizona Court of Appeals

In June 2024, Lake's appeal was rejected by the Arizona Court of Appeals, with Judge Sean Brearcliffe stating that Lake's claimed "8,000 uncounted votes" could not overcome her loss margin.

July 2024: Appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court

In July 2024, Lake appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court following the rejection by the Arizona Court of Appeals.

November 2024: Arizona Supreme Court Declines to Hear Lake's Appeal

In November 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court declined to hear Lake's appeal, ensuring the lower courts' rulings were maintained and ending Lake's legal challenge against the 2022 election result.