Exclusive: Conservative Fox Anchor Who Left over Liberalism Will Run for AZ Gov, Speaks to The Western Journal First
Kari Lake, who was the Phoenix area’s top-rated news anchor before she resigned earlier this year over the establishment media’s liberal bias, has announced she is running for governor of Arizona as a Republican.
Lake was half of the successful prime-time duo “Hook & Lake” for 22 years at Fox News affiliate KSAZ-TV. In March, she left that job behind after more than two decades, explaining that she no longer felt “proud” to work as a member of the media. She soon expounded upon what led her to leave her anchor job behind in a March interview with The Western Journal.
Lake told us that when she had advocated for a “wider range of viewpoints” in the media when she left the business that she was specifically referring to “conservative viewpoints.”
“Hypocrisy, double-standards, bias, misleading coverage are all commonplace in society and newsrooms,” Lake said when referring to how the establishment media covers stories with a slant that is so often hostile toward patriotic Americans and people of faith.
Her March 2 video explaining her decision to resign from KSAZ received over 1.6 million views on social media.
On Tuesday, Lake officially declared her candidacy for governor in another video posted on social media, announcing a pro-business platform that would put Arizona’s students and workers first while also making border security a priority.
Lake also took on the media and the political class.
My fellow Arizonans, I have an announcement pic.twitter.com/7D5tE7rwEq
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) June 2, 2021
Answering questions by email for The Western Journal exclusively after announcing her bid for governor, Lake expounded on why she felt called on to throw her hat into the ring amid such an aggressive and ugly political and social climate. Lake unloaded on cancel culture and liberal bias in the establishment media and vowed to put the state of Arizona before herself.
“That’s exactly what that ugliness and cancel culture and name-calling is meant to do: keep people from speaking out, getting involved and doing the right thing. If we all cower when the media, social media trolls and hateful people try to hurt us, we will never accomplish great things,” said Lake, who has been in the public eye since 1994. “I am running for Governor of Arizona because I care too deeply about this state and the wonderful people who live here to sit on the sidelines and watch us adopt the same policies that left California in shambles.”
“The Democrats around the country and in Arizona have gone CRAZY and if they win the Governor’s seat, they will turn us into California or worse. I want to see my kids remain here in Arizona … and I want my grandkids to be Arizonans. We must ensure the opportunities that brought so many of us here in the first place don’t dry up.”
Lake also slammed the establishment media for ramping up fear with regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The media’s covid coverage was nothing more than pushing panic — and in the process the media scared a lot of politicians into overreacting,” she said when asked how she would grade Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s performance.
“I wish our leaders would have pushed back against the media whose goal was to scare and drive division. The media thrives when the public is afraid and angry. Politicians should tell them to ‘shove it’ and concentrate on helping the people.”
“I’d like to see Arizona remain a great symbol of the American West. Not some homogenized unrecognizable state — or another California,” she said when asked what she would want to define her candidacy.
“You’ve heard of the phrase ‘Don’t California my Arizona?’ We are dangerously close to seeing that happen,” she said when asked what she would want to define her candidacy.
Lake also made it clear that if there is a Lake administration, Arizona’s police would be supported while residents would be sure to keep more of their own money.
“California is a perfect example of what NOT to do when it comes to policies on crime, education, taxes, regulations, homelessness, education, transportation, everything. We want to preserve what makes Arizona unique. Reducing crime is a top priority,” she said. “We want our streets to be safe again. We want our police fully-funded, fully-trained and fully-supported.
“Unfortunately we saw an enormous spike in violent crime over the past year, largely due to poor leadership in some of our major cities by mayors and council members hell-bent on dismantling our police departments. That proved to be a terrible and deadly policy.”
Lake also challenged the Biden administration’s border policies.
“Obviously what is happening at our southern border is a disaster. Think about this, the Mexican criminal cartels are now in control of our borders. They are deciding who comes across. And when the criminal cartels are in charge that means more crime, more human trafficking and more drugs making their way into our neighborhoods. It’s dangerous, it’s inhumane and it must stop. We need to be in charge of who comes across our border, not the cartels.”
Lake also vowed that, if elected, she would prioritize infrastructure, jobs and students.
“We want our kids to go off to school and come home smarter. Not being taught to hate our country. Critical race theory and other useless, dangerous curriculum is doing more harm than good,” she said. “We want our students learning the skills they need to land jobs and be successful in those jobs. When our kids are taught a curriculum that prepares them for what they will encounter in the working world, they will have the confidence to go out and make a better life for themselves.”
Lake cited former President Ronald Reagan as a personal hero, and also applauded the job Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is doing.
“He is working hard for the people of Florida. His policies are common-sense and he doesn’t take a lot of crap from the media,” she said.
She also praised GOP Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota and former President Donald Trump.
“[Noem] told the people of South Dakota of the risks and let them make decisions on how to protect themselves. Personal responsibility is something Americans need to get reacquainted with. Our God given and Constitutional rights have been trampled-on and it is frightening to watch. I would never force businesses, churches and schools to shut down.
“Tell the people the risks, then let them decide how best to proceed,” she added.
“I admire President Trump. He gave up a lot to run for office. The onslaught of criticism, dishonest and destructive reporting kept people from hearing the good things he was doing for our economy, our security, and peace around the world,” she noted of the country’s 45 president.
Lake equated next year’s election to a crucial decision voters must make as a simple one between prosperity and socialism.
“We are at a critical time in Arizona. I fear without a candidate who can win, we will see Arizona decline. We will have far-left Democrats in office pushing an agenda that tilts even more toward socialism,” she said.
“Just imagine if a Democrat were given the power that Governor Ducey had during the pandemic — we’d all still be in quarantine, masked up and out of work.”
Lake officially lunched her campaign website on Tuesday. You can visit that site here.
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