Arizona Republican Kari Lake appeals her loss in election lawsuit, judge's order to pay rival $33K in fees
Arizona Republican Kari Lake is appealing her election challenge loss in this year's gubernatorial race, asking the state Court of Appeals late Tuesday to reconsider all 10 counts she originally cited in her lawsuit as well as a decision ordering her to pay $33,000 in fees to Katie Hobbs' legal team.
Lake, a Donald Trump-endorsed Republican, also indicated she will ask the state Supreme Court for direct review of the appeal.
Her filing comes hours after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson closed her case, which played out over a two-day trial and then a holiday weekend of court filings between plaintiff's attorneys and defense attorneys over sanctions and legal fees.
Lake lost her race for Arizona governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs by 17,117 votes.
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Lake is asking the Appeals Court to examine Thompson's dismissal of eight of her original 10 complaints, Thompson's Dec. 24 ruling rejecting the remaining two counts and Tuesday's decision on fees — essentially questioning every decision he made in her case.
Lake's case revolved around claims that Maricopa County officials and Arizona Secretary of State Hobbs deliberately rigged the election to prevent Lake from winning. Thompson ruled that Lake failed to provide clear and convincing evidence there were intentional moves to change ballot-printer settings and to disrupt the chain of custody for ballots in Maricopa County, the key arguments Lake and her attorneys made to the court during the trial.
The courts are likely to move quickly on this matter. Hobbs and other statewide officials are slated to be sworn into office on Tuesday.
Republican Mark Finchem, who lost his race for secretary of state, also has signaled he will appeal his case, which was dismissed Dec. 16.
Abe Hamadeh, the Republican candidate for attorney general, also lost his election challenge. But he said he would wait for the results of an automatic recount of his race against Democrat Kris Mayes before deciding what to do next. He lost by 511 votes. The recount results are scheduled for release at 10 a.m. Thursday.
Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kari Lake appeals loss in election lawsuit, order to pay rival's fees