A judge in Arizona has denied the last remaining legal claim in Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s lawsuit challenging her loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the 2022 midterm election.

Judge Peter A. Thompson of the Maricopa County Superior Court declared late Monday night that Lake’s team did not provide conclusive evidence that the signature review process for mail-in ballots in Maricopa County was tainted with misconduct.

“Lake, a Trump-backed former TV journalist, lost the election to Hobbs by roughly 17,000 votes and sued claiming ballot printers in the county were inaccurate and signatures on mail-in ballots were not properly reviewed as required by state law. She has earned a significant following with Trump supporters and is openly considering a bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema, a former Democrat now an Independent. Lake has also been rumored to be under consideration by former President Trump as a potential running mate for the 2024 presidential election,” Fox News reported.

“The Court finds that looking at signatures that, by and large, have consistent characteristics will require only a cursory examination and thus take very little time,” Thompson said.

“The question after the comparison is whether the signatures are consistent to the satisfaction of the recorder, or his designee. This, not the satisfaction of the Court, the satisfaction of a challenger, or the satisfaction of any other reviewing authority is the determinative quality for whether signature verification occurred,” the judge ruled. “It would be a violation of the constitutional separation of powers … for this Court after the recorder has made a comparison to insert itself into the process and reweigh whether a signature is consistent or inconsistent.”

Thompson determined that Lake’s team did not present sufficient evidence that the Maricopa County signature verification procedure violated the law.

This month, the Arizona Supreme Court ordered “immediate” proceedings in her case challenging Maricopa County’s signature verification processes for the 2022 election, while denying the defendants’ attorneys fees and imposing one sanction.

In March, the Arizona Supreme Court reviewed Lake’s lawsuit, remanding one of her seven counts back to the trial court and permitting the contemplation of sanctions against her.

The remanded count related to Lake’s allegation that Maricopa County violated its signature verification policies during the 2022 election, according to the report.

“The signature verification allegation was remanded to the Maricopa County Superior Court, which was waiting on the high court to determine if she must pay sanctions to Hobbs and Fontes regarding her claim of 35,563 unaccounted early ballots being added to Maricopa County’s final tally,” the report said.

In a succession of recent social media posts and interviews, Lake has hinted at what’s in store for her in the near future, as rumors of a 2020 U.S. Senate bid continue to grow.

Lake tweeted on Wednesday, “Are you ready for the next chapter?” alongside a photo of her silhouetted against a state flag while performing on stage.

“While Lake’s name has been floated as a vice presidential contender, there are also rumors she could be eyeing a Senate run and is leaning in on raising her national profile,” the Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday. “Much of her popularity comes from her cozy relationship with [former President Donald] Trump, whom she has wholeheartedly supported and unabashedly defended.”

More on this story via Conservative Brief:

And while Lake’s name has been floated as a possible 2024 running mate of Trump’s, she downplayed that Lake on Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Rumble show recently, explaining that she’s still focused on challenging the outcome of the gubernatorial election. CONTINUE READING…