Was Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lying about Kari Lake then, or is he lying now?

There was a moment after it became clear that Kari Lake would be the Republican Party’s nominee for Arizona governor, when it seemed as if Doug Ducey, Arizona’s current governor, had grown a spine.

Ducey is the co-chairman of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), but he was an ardent supporter of Lake’s opponent, Karrin Taylor Robison, calling Lake a “fake,” saying she was “misleading voters” about election integrity and claiming that her whole campaign was “an act.”

Elected officials in Ducey’s position most often stay out of primary campaigns. They’ll only publicly take sides when they’ve come to the conclusion that one of the candidates not only is unqualified, but dangerous.

Like a “fake” who is “misleading voters” and putting on an “act.”

Would Ducey put state over party?

So, when Lake won the Arizona primary, there was a moment when Ducey was silent. It wasn’t him, but the vice-chair of the RGA, Kim Reynolds, who sent out a press release backing Lake, saying, “Arizona families want a leader who will fight back against the failed policies of Joe Biden and Democrats and that’s exactly what they got with Kari Lake – she’s a fighter.”

Really?

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That’s what Arizona voters got?

Because that isn’t what the RGA’s co-chair, Doug Ducey, Arizona’s governor, said in July, when he went CNN and said, “Kari Lake is misleading voters (about the 2020 election) with no evidence. She’s been tagged by her opponents with the nickname ‘Fake Lake,’ which seems to be sticking and actually doing some damage.”

He added, “This is all an act. She’s been putting on a show for some time now and we’ll see if the voters of Arizona buy it.”

As it turned out, Republican voters in Arizona did buy it.

Lake was 'fake' before but worth supporting now?

And for a second there, when Ducey allowed the vice-chair of his group to speak for the RGA, it looked like he might have developed a backbone after all. That he might have some intestinal fortitude. That he might stick to his guns, show some integrity, and continue to express his criticism and concerns about Lake.

But … no.

Over the weekend Ducey was tweeting congratulations to Lake and promising support from the governors association.

Among other things he said, “As co-chairman of the Republican Governors Association, our organization is already active on the airwaves supporting Kari Lake’s candidacy. Congratulations to Kari on a hard-fought victory and to all the candidates who will be carrying the GOP banner in November.”

He also said, “This is going to be an important election given the issues our state is facing and it’s important for Arizona Republicans to unite behind our slate of candidates.”

So, Republicans in Arizona are supposed to unite behind a person Ducey labeled a “fake” who is “misleading voters” and putting on an “act”?

If Ducey believes that, then in the worst possible way he is putting his political party above his state.

And if he doesn’t believe it, but is saying so anyway, it’s even worse.

Either way, it leaves the citizens of Arizona with one simple question about their term-limited governor.

Was Ducey lying about Lake then, or is he lying about her now?

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Was Gov. Doug Ducey lying about Kari Lake then or lying now?