Greg in WaPo:

Let’s start with democracy. Pressed on whether she would accept the November election results, Lake refused to say, declaring: “I’m going to win the election, and I will accept that result.” (Lake also spewed nonsense about election fraud in 2020.)

But Lake recast her contempt for democracy in softer terms than Trump’s, saying that “people don’t trust our elections” and that she merely wants to “make sure our elections are safe and secure for Democrats, independents and Republicans alike.”

The state of Arizona recently passed a law requiring proof of citizenship to vote, which the Brennan Center for Justice called “one of the worst voter suppression laws in the nation.” That law was passed in the name of achieving “election integrity.” Mysteriously, however, Lake is still declaring with direct-to-camera sincerity that people continue to have good reason to doubt election outcomes, even to the point of justifying her refusal to commit to accepting a loss.

All this once again confirms that the “election integrity” goal is a pretext for voter suppression, but in Lake’s hands, it’s even worse. With other GOP gubernatorial nominees adopting a similar posture, it lays the groundwork for drawn-out contested election outcomes in 2022, in a bunch of mini versions of 2020, all delivered in sugarcoated packaging.

Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill captured Lake’s CNN interview perfectly: “The soft focus lens, the closeness to the camera, the falsehoods and outrages offered with preternatural calm and sincerity, really chill me.”

With Lake edging ahead in polls, it’s unclear whether she will face any political penalty for her open suggestion that future election losses should and will be subject to nullification.