Arizona Republican Kari Lake refuses to say whether she'll accept election results


Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor in Arizona, was asked multiple times on Sunday whether she will accept the election results if she loses — and each time, she didn't answer the question.
During an appearance on CNN's State of the Union, host Dana Bash asked Lake, a former news anchor at the Fox station in Phoenix, about accepting the results. After refusing to answer the first two times, Lake responded after the third query, "I'm going to win the election, and I will accept that result."
It's a close race between Lake and the Democratic nominee, current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. Hobbs was also interviewed for Sunday's State of the Union in a separate segment, and called Lake's refusal to answer Bash's questions "disqualifying."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Lake has falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election in Arizona was "stolen" from former President Donald Trump, and said she wouldn't have certified President Biden's victory. "This is somebody who will have a level of authority over our state's elections, the ability to sign new legislation into law, the responsibility of certifying future elections," Hobbs said. "And she has not only, as you heard, refused to to say if she will accept the results of this election, but also whether or not she would certify the 2024 presidential election if she's governor."
Hobbs has refused to debate Lake, saying her opponent is "only interested in creating a spectacle." Lake in turn has accused Hobbs of "cowardice."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Crossword: October 5, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland