Influx of opportunistic Trump cronies helped derail Kari Lake's bid to become governor: adviser
According to a report from the Washington Post about Kari Lake's election loss in Arizona, her embrace of former aides of Donald Trump in the waning days before voters went to the polls was a contributing factor to her defeat.
In particular, one campaign aide said there was an influx of Trump insiders who attached themselves to her in the belief that her political star was rising -- and that it was not helpful as the campaign attempted to woo moderates and independent voters.
As the Post's Isaac Stanley-Becker and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez reported, former Trump White House adviser Steve Bannon became a prominent figure in her campaign, at one point being a featured speaker at a Lake rally, despite warnings from her staff that her attachment to the former president and his election fraud claims was turning off voters.
According to the report, "...her failed campaign offers a case study in how Trump has warped the GOP’s electoral prospects. The positions adopted by candidates to win his endorsement — often necessary to get through the gantlet of GOP primaries — appear untenable in the battleground states that Republicans would need to win to reclaim the White House."
Put simply, Lake policy director Sam Stone, claimed that a, “...majority of Arizonans don’t want to vote for Trump or Trump-affiliated candidates.”
Adding to those woes were the Trump people latching onto Lake's run in the final days.
According to the Post report, "One adviser said the influx of former Trump aides in the campaign’s final weeks sent the wrong message," explaining, "They saw the race as their ticket to a vice-presidential candidate."
You can read more here.