like kari lake, big obama supporter.trump, i mean, my god, giving money to kamala harris in 2014. pro choice, pro -- every democratic position, willie. it is crazy. but these cyber punks, they spread these lies, idiots believe those lies. and these republican arizona officials, i swear to god, how many audits have these officials been forced to run. and you have county commissioners in maricopa county and senators, all of the these republicans saying, guys, guys, these are all lies. you're being lied to. and they have done that five, six, seven, eight, nine times since the election. it just won't stop. >> it is a disgrace that the conspiracy theorists who call themselves the cyber ninjas were allowed near any ballots in the state of arizona. they were sniffing them and looking at and looking at them to see if they could detect any bamboo in them because that would prove they were shipped in from china. no bamboo in the ballots. but to your point, you may get after today and down the road a full slate of officials in ariz

trump-friendly votes are the later votes, that would also translate into the later votes being the kari lake votes. there could be room for lake to grow. there could be room for taylor robson to fall. see maricopa county come in as ten points for taylo robson over lake, you know, lake wanted to be winning in this batch of votes. if she was winning this this batch of votes, it would be game over. instead taylor robson gets a ten-point pad here from this big giant batch that maricopa reportsth out early. just giving you a quick look at the other counties reporting ou some of those results now here. what it adds up to is results statewide that looks like that maricopa result so far. this is about half the vote in arizona. taylor robson with the advantage over lake. let'san see by the way those otr statewide races we have been talking about with samera early votes counted up. okay. here in the senate race, blake masters jumps out -- this is the trump-endorsed candidate in the senate race. hedi jumps out to an early lead here. it's five points over jim lamon tried to run as just a trum pi candida

could carry lake -- could kari lake rise for a second. [applause] {kari!]and please, this morning on morning joe, for five minutes they tore her apart. they called her an insurrectionist. they said she was guilty of treason and finished by saying that she was a bill of rights racist. ladies and gentlemen, she had the audacity to leave a job in media and say, guess what, i want to give the people of arizona a voice like donald j. trump gave the people of this country. $30 million, $20 million for her opponent and another 10 million from outside groups, not a penny of that spent on differences of policy. all $30 million of that spent on the politics of personal introspection. carry lake -- kari lake, you are not only a politician, you are the future of this movement. [applause] we are at war. we are in a political and ideological war. you can say whatever you want about it, but we are at war. think about after high noon on january 20 on 2020 one -- 2021, an imposter took over pennsylvania and the administration. there is no doubt in anyone's mind who looks at

kari lake is not changing. perhaps, is she trying to better articulate a message that has greater appeal to those here in the maricopa county suburbs? absolutely accurate. over the next 95 days you would expect to see the same kari lake here in what is going to be a heavily financed and is nationally focused gubernatorial race. >> correct me if i'm wrong, but she also took to the stage on election night, we still don't have results, but she declared victory? >> reporter: she declared victory when she was at a deficit of 7%, when she was down by 7%. and, again, we expected those ballots here, those late ballots turned in by very -- the types of republicans who are increasingly skeptical of our election system. they have been urged by this wing of the republican party to come in and turn their ballots in at person at the polling sites. it's no surprise she cut that deficit down like she did. as you just said it, this is kari lake who declared victory before she had even taken the lead. >> thanks so much. >>> stil

i kari lake headquarters is vaughn hillyard.ou've had some remarkable conversations with the candidate. where do we stand first with the results. kari lake not performing as strongly the last hours we expected. >> right i think this is the question that you have talked about. folks dropped off their ballots how many folks dropped off their ballots or voted in person. we have no idea. we know there is an overwhelming turnout in person but i am in touch with both candidates there long to question marks. she had to be taylor robson had to be contempt competitive can carrie lay close askap or side to say that was off not only tonight, but tomorrow, and the next day, among those voters that either turned in their house or vote in person. i want to note, though we are starting to get some results, from secretary of state is currently ahead, but how, monday attorney general candidates backed by those two individuals like carey like has also called for the disintegration of the 2020 election. they look like they're on their way to victo

what happens if kari lake is governor of arizona is crucial, right? >> it is absolutely crucial, and having an election denying secretary of state is very crucial. it is to recruit secretaries of state who support him on these election lies so that if he is to run again in 2024 and not win, he actually could be successful in some of these efforts to overturn state results, but i would say this. i think last night's results are being framed as a victory for trump, and i guess that's correct in the way that many of his endorsees won. it's a win for election lies and it's a loss for democracy. i think that the maga monster of the election was stolen. you can't trust election results and it's grown far bigger than just trump himself. ac across the board i've seen what i would consider sane and serious. i think the election was stolen and this has permeated the party to such a dangerous degree and with kari lake, it looks like she'll pull it off. she was an obama supporter and now she's anti-trump when she was elected and now she's the voice of spreading e

senate race and i had a conversation with jan brewer, nicole, and we were talking about kari lake. she said that kari lake is an extreme candidate and for anybody that was around ten years ago in the state of arizona you would have said jen brewer would be calling another wing of the party extreme and it's telling you something and that's why kelly ward, chairwoman of the republican party and she said it best last week at the rally when she approved, that she was a proud chairwoman of the orange mafia. >> it's sort of like -- like arizona calling, you know a summer too hot. it's hard to sort of put into context how radical you have to be by someone who was once speaking outside of the republican party, but i want to play some of kari lake. i know you've interviewed her, as well. this is a little bit of her during the debate on january 9th. >> we did not wear masks all of the way into the summer. >> you called joe biden an illegitimate president. >> he lost the election and shouldn't be at the white house. >> i believe begins at conception. >> i don't think abortion pills should be

as you mentioned, kari lake is breaking ahead. the republican party in arizona saying this is the direction we want to go. as far as the future of trumpism in the republican party, he's still very much part of its dna. anyone who says donald trump is over in the republican party should look at what's going to happen in arizona. >> what do you say we coin [ speaking foreign language ] as the mantra? >> i like it. >>> up next, taking out one of the world's most wanted terrorists. the details of how u.s. forces tracked down al qaeda leader ayman al zawahri inside afghanistan, and his significance in the tear gore group for decades. >>> back at home, more extreme weather expected in kentucky as the death toll continues to rise from the massive floods there. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." riders! let your queries be known. uh, how come we don't call ourselves bikers anymore? i mean, "riders" is cool, but "bikers"...is really cool. -seriously? -denied. can we go back to meeting at the rec center? the commute here is brutal.

kari lake, the woman that you're talking about in arizona.t is woman who for 22 years is a broadcaster at the local fox news affiliate. i will say that again, the fox news affiliate. she's seen as kind of a middle of the road broadcaster. sometimes she donates to campaigns like obama and in 2018 and 2019 and 2020 it all turns and she becomes a qanon xeer sift. last year she disavows the fourth estate and walks away from the newsroom and turns what could have been a liability among republican voters which is to say her work as a journalist into an asset by virtue of the condemnation. it's a testament to the anti-democratic norms of the gop that you captain get to the top of the ticket if you're a journalist unless you disavow the fourth estate and i will get -- i won't get into the all the other candidate but, i mean, we're talking about people who never would have had careers in politics are now the frirns for the republican party in important and key races in key states. now, that could be good news for democrats, but is it good news for dem

i know at one point kari lake was already calling it into question.esumably working now that she did pull out a sizable victory considering what has been expanded over the last 48 hours, but can't count the votes on election night? why? >> this is the problem, we are seeing other countries that have elections and same-day voting and then they have the total that night and they are able to declare winners. but kari lake said that she would win when all the legal votes were counted and she was exactly right and i'm so very proud of her. this is another president trump-backed candidate that has totally won her race in a primary and i'm so excited, but there are other members who won their primaries, and president trump backed her over and establishment republican, and she won that primary and we are getting others like vance and vega and blake masters to join us in this new america first congress will be amazing at defunding everything nancy pelosi has put forward. but i am worried that lobbyists and establishments will come after them and say this is ho

kari lake, a former tv news anchor, catapulted into the national spotlight after being endorsed by formerrump. >> no one understands better than kari how to fight back against the fake news media and the radical left. >> reporter: tonight's primaries testing former president trump's power over the republican party and perhaps a signal of where the gop is headed. >> the trump endorsement meant a lot in arizona. and the idea of running on the maga and trump banner, that is how kari lake tried to define herself. her loyalty to the false claims around the last election. she did not have the republican establishment backing. >> reporter: lake has been a fervent supporter of trump, continuing to push the false claim the 2020 election was stolen. >> we will no longer accept corruptness, and i know for a fact we will no longer accept rigged elections. who's with me on that? [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: arizona was not stolen. biden won the state by more than 10,000 votes. lake's opponent, real estate developer karen taylor robson, has the endorsement of former vice president mike pence bu

that's the one between kari lake and karrin taylor robson. turely declared victory in phoenix, despite her trailing at that time. and she continued to lay the groundwork for distrust in the results of the election. >> there is no path to victory for my opponent. and we won this race. we are going to win this, win or lose. >> overnight, lake took the lead over robson, but the race still categorized as too close to call. meanwhile, mark finchem, a state representative and election conspiracy theorist as well endorsed by donald trump is projected to win the nomination to oversee voting in secretary of state. and in the senate, blake masters funded by peter thiel is going to beat lamon and rusty bowers who you will remember testified during the january 6th hearing is projected to lose by a wide margin. let's go to steve. steve, too close for the governor's race to call. what's it look like where you're sitting? >> yeah. kari lake had overnight, the last four hours or so, kari lake got a lot of good news. if you remember from 2020, the way they do

i kari lake headquarters is vaughn hillyard.arkable conversations with the candidate. where we stand first with the results. kari lake not performing as strongly the last hours we expected. >> right i think this is the question that you have talked about. folks dropped off their ballots how many folks dropped off their ballots or voted in person. we have no idea. we know there is an overwhelming turnout but i am in touch with both candidates there long to question marks. she had to be taylor robson had to be contempt competitive and now we're starting to get the results not only tonight but tomorrow the next day among those voters who turned in bouts or folded in person. we are starting to get some results. mark finchem is currently ahead. those two individuals like terry lake have also called for the certification of the 2020 election. they look like they're on their way to victory, and just heart to mark finchem ali and i put the question to him and i said is your election fair? and he said, we will have to see, what comes out

senate candidate blake masters and gubernatorial hopeful kari lake.with the latest on this. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, john. what we're really seeing is this unite and win philosophy. that's the mantel, the headline, if you will, that governor desantis is making this national tour, especially battleground states like arizona. this is just post some of these contentious primaries of which arizona absolutely had it. and so we also got a chance to see how the mar-a-lago story just playing out in realtime against a 2022 political landscape. we heard the fiery rhetoric from the republican nominee for arizona governor kari lake, she delved into the politics of grievance, but also from governor desantis who without citing any of those critical facts or the reason for the investigation or delving into some of those critical information points he called this patently unfair. take a listen. >> do we have that sound, you guys? >> reporter: what he basically said -- we don't have that sound, so sorry about that. basically what he and, you know, the

i think kari lake just appeared in phoenix. speed. >> reporter: she just ended about five minutes ago. nbc has called it for lake. we expect her lead to grow here. the remaining ballots are those ballots that were mailed to folks but then they came in hand-delivered in the last 48 hours to their polling location. and we have seen that especially these kari lake republican voters were those who were, had the utmost concern about the ability of their ballots to make it safely to be counted. anyway. about what kari lake said here, it's important to note. we're talking about a general election campaign just 95 days away here. and there is some concern among republicans here about whether she would be able to bring over not only democrats and independents but we're talking about republicans like the mccain family. i just asked her that she compared to a dysfunctional family. she said that john mccain reached on from the grave to hold on to the republican party. she said about mike pence that they once thought he was a good guy. so s

the republican primary for governor kari lake is leading. lead has held up. we'll see where the vote count goes today. but arizona is one of the states where we're seeing a clear pattern, republican voters supporting republican candidates who continue to deny the 2020 election results. kari lake not the declared candidate but is leading. blake masters is an election denier. you move on to other races, the secretary of state candidate is an election denier. get that, the person who will count the votes is someone who still disputes the 2020 election results. finchham there. many are saying donald trump won two years ago. >> when arizonians had concerns about their election, mark finchham held the election audit. he's the election integrity fighter we need now. >> they're still trying to rig elections and cancel out your vote. i won't back down until the elections are fair and secure. >> joining me now are my guests. they won't let it go. the question is does it matter. can democrats on that issue alone, do they they they can beat these republ

kari lake's misleading voters with no evidence. she has been tagged by her opponents with a nickname fake lake. >> lake herself ran partially on a platform of criticizing doocy for his covid policies and for also certifying president biden's election win, which mind you was required by law. now, the republican governor's association is expected to spend over $10 million in television ads backing lake ahead of november's election. >>> with less than 100 days to go to the midterms, outgoing congressman peter meijer of michigan saying the backing of candidates backed by donald trump could backfire. >> while there was certainly a cynical calculus at play with the democrats meddling, this is a risky strategy, a dangerous strategy, where president biden is in his approval, it is so in the gutter, that it is hard to see that strategy, that it is easy to see that strategy backfiring in a spectacular way, which is all the more reason why we should not be embracing the zero sum idea of politics, we should not be embracing this notion that if

could carry lake -- could kari lake rise for a second. [applause] {kari!]orning on morning joe, for five minutes they tore her apart. they called her an insurrectionist. they said she was guilty of treason and finished by saying that she was a bill of rights racist. ladies and gentlemen, she had the audacity to leave a job in media and say, guess what, i want to give the people of arizona a voice like donald j. trump gave the people of this country. $30 million, $20 million for her opponent and another 10 million from outside groups, not a penny of that spent on differences of policy. all $30 million of that spent on the politics of personal introspection. carry lake -- kari lake, you are not only a politician, you are the future of this movement. [applause] we are at war. we are in a political and ideological war. you can say whatever you want about it, but we are at war. think about after high noon on january 20 on 2020 one -- 2021, an imposter took over pennsylvania and the administration. there is no doubt in anyone's mind who looks at the facts or info

kari lake said as governor, she would deser-certify the results. in trump world. win or lose, she's going to go on and be this maga superstar. so i think people should become familiar with this person. >> democrats talk about kari lake and say extremists are winning priorities. i think the word extremist is the next word. biden will call republicans extremists. and they'll redefine the term. is there any common language -- >> well, in general in political science when we talk about extremism, it's these polar opposites of the idealogical scale, so the most conservative, conservatives you could say are extremists, but it's really hard not to conflate that with election lies and conspiracies, and it's really important we cover these people. what's so hard for the gop right now is that extremists win because at the primary stage, the voters are much more conservative in this case than general election voters. but moderates would almost always do better in a general election. that's one of the most tried and true research findings that we have. >> so y

kari lake, she got the base. will translate into independent voters in general election. >> kevin: how surprised were you? >> not surprised donald trump carries lot of weight with lot of republican it was very close. if you look at these primary contests, the trump endorsement is not necessarily getting a majority of the vote. you got 68, 70% of the vote that's not going with this candidate. >> it's not just positive. you never know. >> the polls had her winning by more than she actually performed at. i want to pick. on josh's point. it's so critical. you look at arizona. there are lot of people who are mccain voter. lot of those are moderate republican. you got to carry those people you want to win in a general election in the grand canyon state. >> kevin: we got 30 seconds, not a lot of time. i want to make sure i get your take on liz cheney. juan, your thoughts about her prospect? looks like she's done. >> i don't think she's going to win that race. i think liz cheney is now a national figure in a way she neve

maybe it's a banana republic when that happens. >> echoed by kari lake, heavy on grievance, light onthese people sent politically motivated federal agents to president donald trump's home and raided it. how dare they. >> this is the first large political rally since the mar-a-lago search. >> how much is that affecting republicans who are going to be voting this year in the midterms? >> i hope it's a lot. i hope it ignites people, gets them out there, and they want to help support the republican ticket. >> after what happened on monday, we have to show our support for the president. the real president, anyway. >> here in arizona, where trump's 2020 election lie still thrives in a big swath of the gop, his endorsed candidate swept in the state's primary. >> kari lake defeated a republican backed by mike pence and the establishment. >> the republican party isn't your great, great grandfather's party anymore. >> u.s. senate candidate blake masters is also trump endorsed. >> it will be arizona first and america first all the way. >> the proof is in the primaries, say voters in this crowd,

a lot of mixed messages from kari lake.rance if it turns out that she's behind come 8:00 arizona time she can offer the excuse already, right, stolen, can't trust it. we have seen this before, i will just add that maricopa county board chair bill gates, saying what she told me is it's beyond irresponsible. if you have evidence, show it to us now but she hasn't done it. >> graham reznick, good luck. >>> coming up, extreme weather out of southern california where a massive wildfire that began on friday continues to burn out of control. >>> and an update from kentucky as the state braces for yet another deadly round of flooding in that state. i'll be right back. ght back with diet and exercise, and nothing worked. there was just kinda this stubborn area on my stomach. but coolsculpting worked for me! coolsculpting targets, freezes and eliminates treated fat for good. no needles, no incisions. discuss coolsculpting with your provider. some common side effects include temporary numbness, discomfort and swelling. you've come this

trump's pick for arizona governor, kari lake has called for the decertification of joe biden's victory. she's already claiming election fraud in the primary while providing zero evidence. >> what fraud is there, kari? what fraud is there? >> do you want to make this about you? >> this is about arizona voters and their faith in this election. >> the last person i would tell about what we discovered is you and msdn see. >> so you know about a crime? and you're not going to report it to authorities. >> she's offered no proof to anyone, and michigan, republican congressman who voted to impeach president trump is fighting for his political survival. peter major is facing a stiff primary challenge from a trump backed candidate there. this is one of the biggest test yet for a gop incumbent, who broke with mr. trump after the insurrection. and in missouri, there is chaos and confusion in the states gop senate race after former president trump announced he is endorsing eric, no last name, just eric, as fate would have it, there are two leading republicans in the race and both are named, eric. t

candidate kari lake says it's over. >> we are so proud of our movement.are so proud of the victory we have. >> reporter: the former tv anchor supported by president trump is a leading voice of the skeptics of the 2020 election results. >> we're going to take a sledgehammer to these damn electronic voting machines. >> reporter: her opponent, karen taylor robison hasn't conceded and also won't say whether biden won in 2020. >> the one thing i know for certain is the wrong guy is in the white house. >> reporter: trump-backed election deniers like blake masters did well across arizona tuesday night. in the fight to oversee state elections as secretary of state, republicans chose mark finchem, who was in washington on january 6th and said he wouldn't have certified the 2020 results. >> when you steal something, that's not really a win. that's a fraud. >> reporter: elections experts are worried these types of candidates could be victorious in november. >> these election deniers in offices that oversee elections or have some responsibility for the democratic par

when i woke up this morning, kari lake was ahead so then what is the difference between kari lake andent and hers not fraudulent? did she explain that? >> reporter: again, don, you are using logic. [ laughter ] >> reporter: we're talking about the same system, the same paper. >> the exact same thing happened. >> reporter: the same. the exact same. the exact same. and i'm so sorry to get animated here but i feel like i'm on repeat, people who have been watching these elections, you know, wherever we are, it -- yeah, it's the same. it's the same. it's just the victor that's different here and who it's convenient for. >> boy, oh, boy. [ laughter ] and people believe it. wow. thank you kyung lah. stay sane. see you soon. >> reporter: you bet. >> bracing for the worst, an expert testifying the fbi isn't built to handle all the reports of threats and harassment against election officials so who will happen come the midterms? i'm a performing artist. so a healthy diet is one of the most important things. i also feel the same way about my dog. we were feeding her dry, triangle shaped ingredie

kari lake was ahead. -- what is the difference between kari lake and joe biden?oes joe biden's fraudulent and her is not fraudulent -- >> explain that. >> again, don, you are using logic. [laughs] we are talking about the same system, the same paper. >> the exact same thing happened! >> the same! the exact same, the exact same. and i'm so sorry to get animated here. but i feel like i'm on repeat. people who have been watching these elections, you know, wherever we are. yeah, it's the same. it's the same. it's just the victor that is different here. and who it is convenient for. >> boy oh boy. [laughs] and people believe it. wow. thank you kyung, stay safe, see you soon. >> thank you. >> testifying the fbi isn't built to handle all the threats in her last month against election officials. so, what will happen come the midterms? ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. in the next second, fourteen families will decide... that's it. we're getting a bigger house! finally. but we got to sell this place. befo

news but we'll release it to the authorities. >> in arizona, trump-backed candidate for governor, kari laked crying fraud while unwilling and unable to provide any evidence. officials across the state are working against gop big liar candidates like lake as they sow more doubt in our elections and prove their threat to our country once more. that includes those like mark finchum, the republican nominee for secretary of state, who questioned the integrity of a race he ended up winning. joining us now, arizona's secretary of state, democratic nominee for governor, katie hobbs. madam secretary, welcome. so, here you are. how does it -- how do these lies further erode the trust that voters have in our elections, not just in your state but around the country? and what do you think happens if these republicans like mark finchum and kari lake are in charge in arizona elections and elsewhere around the country? >> look, these lies are undermining our integrity of our elections in so many ways. it's, quite honestly, exasperating at this point. people just want to move on from the 2020 election, but

tuesday's primary and the projected winner, of course, the arizona republican gubernatorial candidate, kari lakeeen the big star of the day, getting a standing ovation, chants of kari, kari from the crowd. she is the fire brand had a has been endorsed by donald trump, and in the state of arizona, in her campaign for governor, really truly made the center piece of her campaign election lies. really buying into the lie that donald trump won in 2020. fact check, he did not. but the fact that she is the projected winner in arizona. here she is the hero because of how she won. because it was based on those election lies. as we walk through the crowd, they say that she is the future. how she ran for this republican party. >> do you think talking about 2020 and following donald trump's lead is the way for republicans to win this year in november? >> yeah. i still think it is the same. we have to shut down the illegal voting. i think that was the big part that shut it down. donald trump had the following. >> and you hear her say, donald trump had the following. he is the big star. the big foinl speaker

different than kari lake.re is a disparity between those two if it is looking at trump backed candidate to be maricopa county, again, with a big lead here, the question is whether lamon can make up ground. let go out and show you another state out here in the state of washington bureau this has now been called. in washington, to double primary. in other words, the top two finishers move on to the general election. this is patty murray, the incumbent, looking for a sixth term in the senate, and tiffani smiley who republicans will look to as a dash in a pen. she's a former, taking care of an iraq veteran was blinded in the iraq war, she is very good on the stump at fund-raising, she will want to face patty murray here, but the numbers in this primary, because the top two finish show that he's got an uphill battle in the general election because they would have been. one of the things were looking at here are house races that tell a story. we have a lot of different house prices in the five states. however, you g

nbc news now predicts election denier and trump acolyte kari lake is the winner of the republican primary governor of arizona. she repeatedly claimed election irregularities but now says her supporters, quote, outvoted the fraud. among those endorsing lake, the conservative group cpac, which is now meeting in texas and where the keynote speaker was hungarian prime minister victor orban who was welcomed with a standing ovation. "the washington post" described it as, quote, a trump rally with a hungarian accent. >> we have seen what kind of future the globalist ruling class has to offer, but we have a different future in mind. the globalists can all go to hell. i have come to texas. >> we've got lots to discuss. i want to bring in nbc capitol hill correspondent allie vitaly. betsy woodruff swan, an msnbc contributor. matthew dowd is founder of country over party and msnbc political analyst. allie, it will be a busy weekend on the hill. talk about what is in store for this massive reconciliation bill and what is a vote-orama anyway? >> it is a really good question, chris. when we get to that

let's start with former tv news anchor kari lake, who voted for barack obama and now parrots the big. >> let me tell you this. there is no good guys in corporate media. they don't exist. if there were good guys, they would be telling us about hydroxychloroquine and i've mayor-electin. >> you called joe biden an illegitimate? >> he lost the election and shouldn't be in the white house. we had a corrupt election. don't tell me that joe biden won 81 million votes. don't insult my intelligence. i refuse to have it. >> okay. then there's secretary of state candidate mark finchum, currently a state legislator and tried to decertify the arizona election and failed and he's also a member of the oath keepers, right wing paramilitary group that you guys know and there's this little fun fact. he actually attended the capitol insurrection and a revealing new piece in "politico" an arizona republican was shocked at finchum's success given that mark is known as the guy that's probably the dumbest, well, there's a long list, but one of the dumbest legislators in the statehouse. yeah. then there's b

. >> rob: republican candidate for arizona governor kari lake fueled her campaign with unfounded claimsd in u.s. elections. >> kari! kari! >> hello. oh, my goodness. >> rob: before all the ballots were even counted in her race last week lake claiming victory. >> we outvoted the fraud. we didn't listen to what the fake news had to say. the maga movement rose up and voted like their lives depended on it. >> rob: when pressed on her allegations of voting issues in her own race, lake responding with vague accusations. >> you said this election was messed up. you said you have evidence of cheating. why should voters trust that you won this election fair and square if elections are just such a mess? >> well, we have a lot of evidence of irregularities and problems, and we're going to address those. >> will you release the evidence? >> i'm not going to release it to the fake news. but we'll release it to the authorities. >> why not release it right now? >> why would i release it to a bunch of people who deny that there was fraud when there was obviously fraud? >> lake was eventually declared t

kari lake has channelled the big lake. channelling trump literally, saying if she doesn't win this primary tonight because there's cheating. if she wins, apparently anderson, there's no cheating. if she loses, there's cheating. this is trump versus pence. karrin taylor robson is endorsed by pence. so you have the trump establishment, but arizona could, by the end of the night, nominate a full slate of statewide candidates who backed the big lie. again, we need competitive political parties in this country. this is not an anti-republican statement, but the cancer of the big lie in the republican party is on the ballot tonight. will the republican party finally say enough? or will it in a critical battleground state this year for senate and governor obviously in the next presidential election and every presidential the next four or five arizona will be key battleground state. do republicans say enough or do they say the big lie, deniers? we will nominate them. >> a lot to watch for. we'll come back to you shortly, john. i wa

you've got kari lake running for governor. she's a former newscaster. she echoes all of trump's claim about the 2020 election. she's led in the polls. we'll see if she get through tonight. trump's endorsed a candidate for attorney general, secretary of state. it would create an interesting dynamic. it's a tough atmosphere nor democrat to be running in, and arizona's only a state that joe biden won by .3%. what mark kelly the democrat would like to see here is i think he feels if he's running against that trump slate that could give him his best chance, because that might test the limits of how voters are willing to go in a state like arizona. we'll see if he gets that matchup tonight. >> steve kornacki, thank you, sirm you can catch steve tonight on msnbc break down these results this hour, next hour, and start at 8:00 p.m. when polls close. our special coverage continues. we're joined by howard dean and our correspondent for msnbc news who is out there in the field at a polling site in missouri. we have some footage of your reporting today. we heard ab

and kari lake did tweet out that she will be the speaker right before trump.allas. >>> another speaker who took the podium was viktor orban. he was given a warm welcome as he delivered a speech called "how we fight", suggesting a kinship with america's conservative movement. >> we have to be brave enough to address given the most sensitive questions. migration, gender and the clash of civilization. don't worry, a christian politician cannot be racist. if you separate the best in civilization from his judeo christian heritage, the worst things happen. things were carried out by people who hated christianity. >> orban set the stage for former president trump by criticizing the liberals, the news media and the democratic party. for more perspective, let's bring in head of the u.s. and america's program at chatham house. good to have you with us, leslie. >> thank you. >> as to hungarian prime minister, he's been accused of consolidating power in his own country and undermining democracy. he gave a speech on thursday entitled "how we fight", speaking of his fight a

. >> reporter: fresh off a republican primary victory for arizona's governor, kari lake arrives to aat the conservative political action conference in dallas. in her home state, she is leading in every single county, centering her campaign on donald trump's lie about the 2020 election. a position she pledges she will not pivot away from. >> we outvoted the fraud. we didn't listen to what the fake news had to say. the maga movement rose up and voted like their lives depended on it. >> reporter: trump endorsed elections denying candidates won up and down the ballot yesterday. u.s. senate candidate blake masters and secretary of state candidate mark finchem who says he wants to eliminate all voting machines. >> paper ballots, hand counting on one day. we can do that. we used to do it. >> reporter: election experts say that would mean months-long counts. 2020 deniers, despite no evidence of widespread fraud, won. and not just in arizona. >> thank you, michigan. >> reporter: but in michigan this week, republican gubernatorial nominee tudor dixon. >> do you believe donald trump won the 202

. >> reporter: fresh off a republican primary victory for arizona's governor, kari lake arrives to a hero's welcome at the conservative political action conference in dallas. >> we did it. we did it. >> reporter: in her home state she is leading in every single county, centering her campaign on donald trump's lie about the 2020 election, a position she pledges she will not pivot away from. >> we outvoted the fraud. we didn't listen to what the fake news had to say. the maga movement rose up and voted like their lives depended on it. >> reporter: trump endorsed election-denying candidates won up and down arizona's ballot tuesday. u.s. senate candidate blake masters and secretary of state candidate mark finchem, who says he wants to eliminate all voting machines. >> paper ballots, hand counting on one day. we can do that. we used to do it. >> reporter: election experts say that would mean months-long counts. 2020 deniers despite no evidence of widespread fraud won. and not just in arizona. >> thank you, michigan. >> reporter: but in michigan this week republican gubernatorial nominee t

kari lake.gainst karrin taylor robson is currently too close to call, but that did not stop her from calling it last night. >> can you believe it? i've got the numbers here. we have barely any votes counted. we won today. seven out of 10 election-day votes. do you know that? that is massive. and those votes are not counted yet. there is no path to victory for my opponent, and we won this race, period. ( laughter ). >> stephen: i'm sorry, what. what-- what's happening? she said the votes were barely counted, then she said she was winning, then she said the votes were not counted yet, then she claimed she won. reminds me of last year's super bowl: >> there's the kick-off... and there's no path to victory for the rams! the bengals win! stay tuned for "the equalizer"! ( applause ) >> stephen: quality show "equalizer," quality show. as long as we're declaring winners before the votes are counted, i'm pleased to announce that "the late show with stephen colbert" has won the j.d. power and associates a

a head sketch of a press conference by kari lake. i guess you are used to that having covered this race. she is just in her own reality. whether she knows the difference or not is kind of the material. >> there is an unfortunate irony. and we know here at nbc news, we have not called the race yet. she holds about a two percentage point lead. we expect the lead to continue to grow. about 100,000 plus ballots that are outstanding at this point and were returned to polling locations in the final 48 hours. we have seen and expect these to trend more toward kari lake the party very critical in question of the mail-in voting process. we saw those ballots favoring her opponent. kari lake at the same time, looking at what we expect to be a very competitive general election bid against the current secretary of state who is running as a democratic nominee for governor. and just yesterday, and the press conference, she doubled down in the assertion she made over the last year and a half that katy hubbs should be arrested. for what? just says th

donna, i want to shift real quick with you, though, to kari lake and her fraud allegations.ond to that. should they be calling her bluff? should they allow her the lanes that she's created for herself to just outright lie to floridians about what happened in that primary and the big lie itself? should you guys be forcing her to own it a little bit more? >> well, you know what, michael, i don't know how much more she can own it. i mean, she's fully embraced it. i mean, she built her entire primary campaign on that big lie and continuing to promote it, and even in this interim period before her race was called, she perpetuated that lie again as though somehow that even if she won, that there still is some question about the election, and i think that what democrats have to do with these candidates is allow them, enable them to be as extreme as they want to be and then to go out and fight for that middle, which i believe is there. i think that that -- part of that fight that liz cheney described is people who are willing, no matter what, across lines, to stand up for the republ

candidate kari lake attacked drag queens as dangerous to children. >> we don't want our tax money goingsantis said he would consider sending child protective services to investigate parents who take their kids to drag shows. >> it is a disturbing trend in our society to try to sexualize these young people. that is not the way you look out for our children. >> trevor: here we go again! here we go again. it probably happened once or trice gies now they're like it's a nationwide thing. it's weird the republicans are against drag queens. weren't the founding fathers all drag queens? they're wearing the wigs. john hancock, don't tell me that's not a drag queen name. i agree this is the biggest danger facing schools. somebody could bring a penis into the classroom. if you dislike people who wear over-the-top wings, a ton of foundation and are totally obsessed about sex, i have bad news about your favorite president, you know. now, obviously, obviously, people have very strong opinions over banning drag shows, and that includes our very own dulce sloan. >> hello, friends. if you know me, you k

not on the official schedule tomorrow, jim, is kari lake, but she did tweet that she will be the speakerht before trump. jim? >> thanks so much for covering. >>> joining us now, cnn political analyst and washington correspondent maggie haberman, and a cnn political commentator during the trump white house. good to have you both on tonight. thanks so much for joining. maggie, in terms of his endorsements, it's been a good week for the former president in several of these primaries in a number of states. what is your sense of what he believes he gains from these endorsements and speeches and do you believe -- and you've been covering him longer than anyone -- this is building up to another presidential run. >> the honest answer, jim, is what he gains from it is attention and people talking about him as we are and other people are. and that's how he looks at this. he tends to treat these endorsements as if it's, you know, a scoreboard as opposed to sort of an ongoing amassing of supporters and, you know, he dives into some of these primaries, you know, at the last minute, like in the case o

what prevents someone like kari lake from basically disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters?on't know. what constitutional scholars and election lawyers told me as i worked on this story is that, certainly, democrats and voting rights experts or advocacy groups would sue immediately if someone like kari lake declined to certify a popular result in her state. but would every judge in this country uphold that norm? norms are only norms until they're broken. and a lot of these experts i spoke to say they're really, really alarmed at the prospect of certainly fewer guardrails being in place in 2024 than were in 2020. and look at the chaos that we had then. amna: well, and when you look at what people are supporting, i mean, these candidates are repeating the lie because people believe in it. millions of republican voters do believe in it. another part of your analysis i want to point out, when you looked at the fact that people who repeat this lie are winning, you looked across 41 states and found that, out of 469 nominating contests so far, more than half, more than half of all

so, mike lindell and others where that circle by saying that kari lake and her supporters -- overrode evil voting machines that were program to steal her victory. neat trick. another big draw cpac today was this little bit of performance art, a man portraying a january 6th rioter in his jail cell, weeping at his political persecution. no one seemed bothered by the irony that the man playing the role of weeping prisoner was in fact a january 6th rioter himself who avoided jail time. how did he do that? he cooperated with prosecutors, helping them convict other rioters who then went to prison. you can't make this stuff up. but the main event for cpac actually hasn't come yet. it's tomorrow night, when the former twice impeached insurrectionist president himself will give a speech. tonight, he is in wisconsin speaking at a rally for republican candidate for governor. trump is backing that candidate because, why else. ? he believes the 2020 election was stolen. he won't commit to certifying the next election if he is elected governor. joining us now is the former republican congressman ca

but the former tv news anchor kari lake is currently winning with 46% of the vote. lake has said she would have a, refuse to certify biden's 2020 victory in arizona should h-she been the governor and claimed last month she was quote already detecting some fraud. detecting some fraud, there is no proof of voter fraud in yesterday's primary. those are the kinds of people who triumphed yesterday. at the same time, we saw two republicans who actually did something to stand up for election integrity, after the 2020 presidential election, both lose. the arizona house speaker rusty bowers who publicly testified before the january 6th committee about being pressured by trump and his allies, to overturn the results in his state, he lost his bid to be the republican candidate for a state senate seat, to a trump-backed opponent. michigan congresswoman peter meijer one of ten house republicans to vote to impeach trump during his second impeachment lost his primary for re-election. apparently this is the state of things. while election deniers are doing pretty well, those who st

kari lake has said lots and lots of things. prison over the handling of the 2020 election. she says you broke laws. she said some things that are pretty strange, but i want to play for you something she said last night because the way she won it not that different from the way biden won. the things she said you should be in jail for. she was behind in the early vote and then she caught up and went ahead because of the same-day vote and then the sort of "x" factor was the absentee vote. the same three systems that were in place for her were in place for him. she's asked if there was a little bit of irony in her stance. >> you said this election was messed up. you said there was evidence of cheating. why should voters trust that you won this election fair and square if elections are such a mess ? >> we have a lot of evidence and irregularities and problems and we're going to address those. >> [ inaudible ]. >> i won't release it to the fake news but will to the authorities. >> if it's real, why would wouldn't you rethese. >> i'm

me is that certainly democrats and voting advocacy groups would sue immediately if someone like kari lakefy a popular result in her state but would every judge in this country uphold that norm? norms are only norms until they are broken. a lot of experts i spoke to say they are alarmed the prospects of fewer guardrails being in place in 2024 and look at the chaos we had in 2020. reporter: when you look at what people are supporting -- candidates are repeating the lie. another part of your analysis was when you looked at people repeating this lie winning come across 41 states, out of 469 contest so far, more than half republican winners have repeated the election lie or elect -- or are election deniers. there is an expectation they will fight even if the next election is definitive, is there an expectation they will fight? >> i think that the answer is yes. i think denying the 2020 election has become a price of admission in the republican party and it has gone beyond fealty to trump but it is gone to the fealty to those false statements. reporter: and we should also say this is not a hypo