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Supporters of Kari Lake—a QAnon adherent and election denier who is the Republican nominee in Arizona's gubernatorial race—demanded the military step in and redo what they allege is a "false" election as she continues to fall behind Katie Hobbs, her Democratic opponent.
The race between Lake and Hobbs—the Arizona Secretary of State whom Lake threatened with imprisonment on baseless and unspecified allegations of criminality related to the 2020 election—is currently too close to call.
With 93 percent of precincts reporting, Hobbs has won 50.5 percent of the vote compared to Lake's 49.5 percent. They are currently separated by a margin of just over 26,000 votes.
As far as Lake's supporters are concerned, that's a sign election fraud took place. Video footage shows protesters calling on the military to intervene.
You can see the footage below.
\u201cKari Lake supporters outside the Maricopa ballot counting center: \u201cWe the people are requesting the military to step in and redo our election. It was fake.\u201d \ud83c\udfa5 Reuters\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1668355369
Earlier this year, Lake described herself as a "Trump candidate," aligning herself with former Republican President Donald Trump and his lies to further her own candidacy. She has long backed the insurrectionists who attacked the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021 on the false premise the election had been stolen.
Lake has attracted support from right-wing extremists, appearing with a Nazi sympathizer and QAnon-linked activists at campaign events.
The ongoing protests are no different, hosting a number of conspiracy theorists and Evangelical Christian nationalists who have accepted Lake and Trump's falsehoods about the election hook, line, and sinker.
Many have criticized them—and Lake—as a result.
\u201cCrosses. Prayers. Marches. #ChristianNationalism calls the military to holy war. (And this kind of jihadic rhetoric is only going to get worse.)\u201d— The Thinking Atheist (@The Thinking Atheist) 1668442080
\u201cNow we know exactly how January 6 happened. Proud Boys and all.\nInsurrectionists belong in the slammer.\u201d— Richard W. Painter (@Richard W. Painter) 1668376523
\u201cWait you mean this wasn\u2019t a winning message? Shocking.\u201d— David Hogg \u262e\ufe0f (@David Hogg \u262e\ufe0f) 1668371493
\u201cThese people need mental health evaluations.\u201d— akovia\u262e\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@akovia\u262e\ufe0f\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1668371478
\u201cAnother example of Christian nationalism. The crosses mixed with the flags, as though this is a white Christian nation that was made for white Christians and is God-ordained to remain in their power.\u201d— Rachel Laser (@Rachel Laser) 1668399385
\u201cMAGA Republicans are the greatest threat to our nation, without a doubt. #MAGAsAreTerrorists #KariLakeLoser can go home & shut up now, please.\u201d— BillCody\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@BillCody\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1668369752
\u201cI was on active duty for 24 years. You know what the military doesn't do?\n\nElections. \n\nGo jump in a lake, losers.\u201d— Alan Howe, Democrat for PA House, district 199 (@Alan Howe, Democrat for PA House, district 199) 1668379584
\u201cWell, if there was ever a group of people who look completely nuts, this is it.\u201d— The fallacy of it all...\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@The fallacy of it all...\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1668388543
\u201cDelusional Christofascists are actively destroying our country\u201d— Woodsy Gay (@Woodsy Gay) 1668367447
Lake's path to victory has considerably narrowed, according to Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, who said that it's “extremely tough" to see how Lake wins after seeing Hobbs' lead widen nearly a week out from the election.
The majority of uncounted votes are in Maricopa County and Arizona officials have said the ballot-counting could continue through this week.
Lake herself has alleged wrongdoing, calling Arizona’s elections system a “laughingstock” and accusing Arizona's election officials of intentionally slowing down the process of tallying votes. Maricopa County's head of elections called her claims "offensive."