Kari Lake refuses to say whether she will accept election results if she loses

Arizona’s Kari Lake on Sunday did not answer — when asked multiple times —whether she will accept the results of her state’s 2022 gubernatorial election if she loses.

Why it matters: Lake, a 2020 election denier, is locked into a tight race with Democrat Katie Hobbs to become Arizona’s next governor, a position that has the potential to affect the 2024 election process.

Driving the news: “I’m going to win the election and I’m going to accept that result,” Lake said, after being asked by CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of The Union” if she would accept the election results if she loses.

• Lake also doubled down on her claims that the 2020 election was rigged against former President Trump.
• “The people don’t trust our elections,” Lake said.

State of play: Of the slate of “ultra MAGA” candidates in this year’s midterm elections, Lake may have the best chance of winning, per polls showing Lake and Hobbs in a tight race.

• Democratic Party strategists eye Lake as a possible future star in the GOP, with the potential to rise to a vice presidential spot or a post-Trump presidential candidacy, Axios’ Jonathan Swan and Alexi McCammond previously reported.

Go deeper… Election denial: The offices that matter