Kari Lake loses her lawsuit. Now it's time for her to offer Arizona a gift

In what should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, a judge on Saturday ruled that Kari Lake was not robbed of her right to be Arizona’s next governor.

“This Court acknowledges the anger and frustration of voters who were subjected to inconvenience and confusion at voter centers as technical problems arose during the 2022 General Election,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson wrote. “But this Court’s duty is not solely to incline an ear to public outcry. It is to subject Plaintiff’s claims and Defendants’ actions to the light of the courtroom and scrutiny of the law.”

Naturally, Lake reacted to the loss with her trademark refusal to accept reality.

“My Election Case provided the world with evidence that proves our elections are run outside of the law,” she tweeted. “This Judge did not rule in our favor. However, for the sake of restoring faith and honesty in our elections, I will appeal his ruling.”

Or put another way, for the sake of building a hoped-for political future – one that requires her to keep her supporters in a state of perpetual fury.

Lake had her chance to prove her claims

Here in the real world, Judge Thompson bent over backwards to give Lake her day in court.

Two days, actually, in which the judge afforded her every opportunity to prove that a Maricopa County elections officer intentionally rigged the Nov. 8 election and that as a result, Lake lost to Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs.

Instead, Lake presented a parade of witnesses who offered up opinions, speculation and a sizable amount of wishful thinking to try to convince the judge that the Republican nominee was the victim of a fiendish plot by the Republican-run county.

But what’s that old saying? Wishin' don’t make it so.

What to watch:As Katie Hobbs becomes governor

In his 10-page ruling, the judge eviscerated the testimony of each of her witnesses …

… From the partisan pollster who testified that his exit poll showed she should have won … to the cyber expert who claimed the county shrunk ballots so they couldn’t be counted, before conceding that those ballots still would have been counted.

“It bears mentioning that election workers themselves were attested to by both Plaintiff’s witnesses and the Defendants’ witnesses as being dedicated to performing their role with integrity,” Thompson wrote. “Not perfectly, as no system on this earth is perfect, but more than sufficient to comply with the law and conduct a valid election.”

More than sufficient to comply with the law.

She won't concede this race, but she should

This being Christmas, it would seem a good time for Kari Lake to offer the state of Arizona a gift.

After 46 days of decrying her loss and defaming the state’s election workers, Lake should muster the grace to accept the verdict of the judge and concede the governor’s race.

I don't expect Lake to wish Hobbs well, but she could at least acknowledge that Arizona has spoken.

Oh, I know. The chance of that is somewhere between none and what-the-heck-is-in-that-eggnog-you’re-drinking.

Still, it’s the season of miracles.

Peace on earth and goodwill toward even those who defeat us.

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kari Lake lost. Now it's time for her to offer Arizona a gift