Liz Cheney leads the way in 'congratulating' Kari Lake on her Arizona loss
Republicans are grumbling and Democrats are celebrating after another of Donald Trump's endorsed MAGA candidates lost a seat in Arizona.
Katie Hobbs was declared the winner of the gubernatorial seat in the state on Monday evening by MSNBC and CNN after the final count of votes was revealed showing that Kari Lake had no pathway left to victory.
Among the biggest responses was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who had endorsed Hobbs, saying that she would do whatever it took to keep Lake from succeeding. In a letter from Lake to Cheney, the far-right candidate thanked Cheney for what she called an "in-kind" donation to her campaign by endorsing Hobbs.
Moments after the election was called, Cheney tweeted the letter and told her, "You're welcome, @KariLake."
An MSNBC columnist mocked Lake by assuming she was smashing all of her light filters. It's a reference to Lake's soft-focus feature on her television interviews that became part of the opener for "Saturday Night Live" after the election.
Radio host Roland Martin poked far-right firebrands Charlie Kirk and Erick Erickson, asking what they thought. "I told y’all she was going down. She is truly a nutcase! Way to go Katie Hobbs!!!!" said Martin.
The Atlantic's Tom Nichols admitted he was dubious about Hobbs' approach to attacking Lake, but admitted it worked in the end.
"Katie Hobbs basically said: This is the choice, there's no mystery here, and trying to argue with Kari Lake is pointless," characterized Nichols. "You know us both, now decide what you want. That's an approach aimed at adults, which is why I didn't think that would work. I am really glad it did."
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti agreed, saying "It turns out that Kari Lake was her campaign’s own worst nightmare."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) poked Lake as well, recalling "the voters she was rude to" and telling Lake she could thank them "for her defeat. Classic f@ around find out beat down."