Kari Lake has settled an election defamation suit brought forward by a Republican official from Arizona over her defeat in the state's 2022 gubernatorial election.
The details of the settlement are confidential, The Washington Post reported, citing two people familiar with the case. The court docket in the Maricopa County Superior Court showed that an "agreed upon settlement disposition has been reached as to all parties and claims."
The Republican official in question, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, told the outlet that "both sides are satisfied with the result." He had sought a public acknowledgement that many statements Lake made about him were not true, as well as damages and attorney's fees. Lake lost the race to Democrat Katie Hobbs by some 17,000 votes.
Richer alleged in the suit that Lake's claims, as well as those from an affiliated nonprofit groups, catalyzed a large amount of threats against him and his family. The suit sought to hold her accountable for saying that Richer had "sabotaged the election to prevent Republican candidates, including Lake, from winning."
Neither Lake nor a top adviser for her 2024 campaign for the U.S. Senate commented on the matter. Earlier this year she declined to defend her statements in court, instead asking it to begin deciding whether she owed damages to Richer.
Lake has not made public statements on the 2022 race or Richer specifically so far, and continued to deny losing last week when supporting Republican Wisconsin Senate candidate Eric Hovde's refusal to concede the race against Democrat Tammy Baldwin. "Praying for you, Eric Hovde, I've been there," said Lake on X,
Lake, however, did appear to concede the 2024 Senate race against Democrat Ruben Gallego. She posted a video on X on November 13 celebrating President-elect Donald Trump's victory, as well as the Republican majorities in both houses of the Arizona Congress,
Here's my message to Arizona: ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/0RB3Ha17Ct
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 14, 2024
"You will never stop mattering to me. These memories we've made together will never go away, they will grow sweeter over time and I will never stop fighting for the state I love," Lake said. She did not formally concede to Gallego but has not contested the outcome either.
With over 98.6% of the votes counted, the Democrat got 50.1% of the vote compared to Lake's 47.7%. She largely underperformed Trump, who easily won the state as part of his successful presidential run.
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