Kari Lake's Election Challenge Has Officially Been Rejected: 'Way Past Time to Move On'

Lake has worked to cast herself in the image of former President Donald Trump, denying the outcome of both the 2020 presidential election and of her own gubernatorial election

SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 08: Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake speaks to supporters during her election night event at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch on November 08, 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona. Election results continue to come in the race for Arizona Governor between Kari Lake and Democratic challenger Katie Hobbs. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Kari Lake. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty

The Arizona Court of Appeals has officially rejected Republican Kari Lake's attempt to overturn the results of the 2022 gubernatorial election, ruling this week that no "basis justifies setting aside the election results," CNN reports.

In its decision, the Court of Appeals said Lake's "request for relief fails because the evidence presented to the superior court ultimately supports the court's conclusion that voters were able to cast their ballots, that votes were counted correctly, and that no other basis justifies setting aside the election results," per CNN.

The Republican firebrand lost her bid for Arizona governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs by 17,000 votes in November.

Lake — who was endorsed by Trump in her 2022 race — has worked to cast herself in the image of former President Donald Trump, denying the outcome of both the 2020 presidential election and of her own gubernatorial election.

She sued Arizona officials in December, requesting they overturn the results and declare her winner.

In a complaint, she alleged that "hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots infected the election in Maricopa County," though she did not offer any evidence of the claim.

In a statement issued after the court of appeals rejected Lake's attempts to throw out the election results, Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman said, "It's way past time to move on."

"As we have said, every valid vote was counted in a midterm election that saw near-record turnout," Hickman, a Republican, said in the statement.

He continued: "While Kari Lake and her legal team continue to find success getting their disproven theories of election malfeasance parroted by friendly media sources and some elected officials, there are two places where she has not succeeded: at the polls, when Arizona voters rejected her bid to be Governor, and in a court of law, where her many claims have been dismissed again and again. These, unfortunately for her, are the only two places that matter."

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Even as she's worked to overturn her electoral loss, Lake has also allegedly had her eye on other aims, recently traveling to Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump in person in an attempt to elevate her from the pack of others being considered for the former president's 2024 ticket.

"I believe she wants to be his running mate," a source told PEOPLE in December. "She is working the deal. She wants something bigger, fast, to compensate for her loss in Arizona."

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