MORRISTOWN, Ariz. (CN) — Support for the Donald Trump-backed Republican candidate for governor, Kari Lake, was strong Saturday as the journalist turned political candidate saw over 1,000 people attend her rally in Morristown, Arizona.
Lake's second official rally took place at a rodeo grounds, about an hour's drive from Phoenix. People from all over Arizona braved the scenic two-lane highway drive to see their favorite GOP influencers and politicians speak amid in the charm of cactus, livestock and the rural countryside.
Speakers at the event included the founder and CEO of MyPillow, Mike Lindell and the controversial GOP Representative Paul Gosar, who's tied to the alleged white nationalist and anti-Semite Nick Fuentes of the "America First" podcast and political action conference.
The strong turnout signals a potential shift in Arizona gubernatorial politics from a moderate business-focused style of GOP governance to one focused on fighting a Trump-aligned culture war.
Lindell spoke about the incumbent governor and his handling of the election critically, as an overture of boos filled the air.
"When your Governor Doug Ducey called the election good here in Arizona, with over 10 hours of evidence yet to be read, I sent him a text, I said lose my number," Lindell said. "Doug, you're disgusting."
Lindell stated the election was stolen through the voting 'machines,' claiming without evidence that over 30,000 people voted multiple times, with some counties having more votes than people.
In 2021, Dominion, a voting system company, sued Lindell for defamation claiming Lindell spread misinformation about election fraud to bolster his sales, "irreparably" harming the election software company's reputation.
On Thursday, a judge dismissed Lindell's motion to dismiss the case without evidence.
On Saturday, Lindell announced a new class-action suit against the voting systems, with over 300 plaintiffs supposedly committed to cosigning the suit.
"I've had lawyers work on this for five months," Lindell said. "We're getting county commissioners, county clerks, they're all the plaintiffs and we've already got about 300 on board. And we're going to get rid of these machines once and for all for any election in history."
Representative Paul Gosar echoed sentiments about the 2020 election being stolen, and encouraged the audience to push back the federal government's influence by electing Lake.
"We're going to make Arizona great again," said Gosar to the audience. "We're going to make the United States great again. Imagine for a second, you've got a tenacious governor like Kari Lake on one side of the country, and you got Ron DeSantis on the other side of the country. Those are some bookends, and we can really do some damage to the federal government."
After Gosar, the front-runner to be the GOP candidate for governor entered the stage to the applause of an enthusiastic crowd. Lake was poised and confident when she spoke.
In March of last year, the 30-year broadcast journalism veteran left her position as an anchor for a local Phoenix station, citing a perceived shift to biased media coverage in her field.
In her speech, Lake prioritized defending Arizona and the border, among other Trump talking points.
"The reason I'm running for governor is to make sure we do not become California 2.0," Lake said. "Keep that socialist garbage over in California. They made their bed they can keep it, they can sleep in it."
The GOP candidate said she'd do this by finishing Trump's border wall project, battling the cartels and addressing the Chinese Communist Party's efforts of trafficking fentanyl through the borders.
"I am the only America First candidate running for governor," said Lake closing her remarks. "Thank you guys, love you guys so much, and vote America First up and down the ballot. It is the only way out of the mess we're in, guys."
An earlier version of this story said Lake was scheduled to speak at the far-right America First Political Action Conference this year but canceled at the last minute due to a scheduling conflict. But Lake told Courthouse News she never agreed to appear at the event and the group had used her photos in advertising without her permission.
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