Kari Lake said ‘Thank you,’ but Liz Cheney won’t be replying ‘You’re welcome.’
Lake, the TV anchorwoman-turned Republican nominee for governor of Arizona, sent a savagely sarcastic letter to Cheney, the GOP congresswoman from Wyoming who now finds herself at odds with her party and about to be out of a job. In the missive, Lake ‘thanked’ Cheney for coming to the Grand Canyon State to campaign against her, saying it has actually help[ed her campaign.
“Thank you for your generous in-kind contribution to my campaign,” the letter, dated Friday, began. “Your recent television ad urging Arizonans not to vote for me is doing just the opposite. Our campaign donations are skyrocketing and our website nearly crashed from traffic as people rushed to learn more about my plan to put Arizona first and join our historic political movement.”
Thank you, @Liz_Cheney. pic.twitter.com/rW5Qevwwf5
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) October 29, 2022
Lake is running against current Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, crossed party lines to support. Polls have Lake leading the race by anywhere from 3.5 points too 11.
Lake’s letter, addressed to “Liz Cheney, Defeated Member of Congress,” also labels Cheney a “warmonger” and advises her that the ad exceeds the maximum allowable individual contribution under election law.
Cheney condemned former President Trump following the January 6 riots, and then quickly found herself estranged from the entire party. She and fellow GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois joined the House Democrats’ January 6 commission, and have since become critical of most other party members. Neither will be in the House come January: Kinzinger was redistricted out of his seat by Illinois state Democrats and Cheney lost a primary challenge to Harriet Hageman.
Lake, an unabashed supporter of Trump, trailed Hobbs by seven points less than a month ago, but has surged in recent weeks. Despite being a former journalist, she has been highly critical of the press coverage her campaign has received. Earlier this week, she blasted the Arizona media for promoting Hobbs’ claim that her team may have been involved in a break-in at one of Hobbs’ campaign offices. Police arrested a homeless man and have not publicly speculated on his motive.
“My desperate opponent, who is sinking like lead weight in water, pulled a stunt, and you guys fell for it,” Lake told reporters Friday. “She put out a defamatory statement, and you all ran with it. You didn’t do your journalistic duty. It was malpractice of journalism that I’ve never seen before.”
Lake blasted the Fox affiliate where she was an anchor for more than two decades after it accidentally posted an election-night graphic showing Hobbs leading the race. The station apologized, and said the graphic was a “test” and was not supposed to be aired.
