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New Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs just got a taste of what it is going to be like governing with Republicans in the state.
As she was giving her first State of the state address several Republican legislators stood and turned their backs of her.
“Several of the GOP lawmakers turned their backs on the new governor and walked out as she outlined her priorities, according to a report. Democratic lawmakers applauded Hobbs when she preached that she intended to increase public education funding and address Arizona’s water crisis. However, when she began calling for abortion access, members of the Arizona Freedom Caucus publicly left the chamber, the report noted,” the Washington Examiner reported.
“As was foreseeable, Katie Hobbs utilized the time-honored State of the State Address to once again promote her radical, woke policy initiatives, rather than address the profoundly serious concerns that Arizonans have regarding the political and fiscal realities of daily life,” a statement from the Arizona Freedom Caucus read.
“On the heels of an election riddled with violations of Arizona law that once again left Arizonans disenfranchised and lacking confidence in our state’s local governments. Katie Hobbs has now affirmed what many reasonably feared: this governor has no intention of using her office to correct existing corruption and restore the faith of Arizonans in their state and local governments,” the statement added.
ARIZONA— Republicans walk out as @GovernorHobbs reiterates her support for access to abortion in her first State of the State pic.twitter.com/2Pjlmial0S
— YvonneWingettSanchez 🏜 (@yvonnewingett) January 9, 2023
Republican Rep. Rachel Jones, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, said that there is a lack of trust.
“It took 5 seconds for Katie Hobbs to begin legislating from the 9th floor, so I will not listen to her rhetoric for even 5 seconds. There are too many questions left unanswered, litigation still moving through the courts, and many concerns about the border, not pronouns,” she tweeted after the address. “This is why I immediately left the House Floor after the start of the State of the State. I promised to be the voice of the people, and I will never break that promise.”
But Gov. Hobbs responded to the walkout by expressing optimism.
“I’m still optimistic that we can find common ground on a lot of the issues that we talked about,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that some members chose an immature stunt instead. We have really tough issues in front of us, and we need to work together to solve them.”
Republican Kari Lake filed two appeals on Wednesday related to a lawsuit challenging her loss in the Arizona gubernatorial race in November. Lake also filed a motion to have her lawsuit heard by the Arizona Supreme Court, which was denied.
“Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson ruled against Lake’s challenge after finding the court was not presented with clear and convincing evidence in the widespread misconduct, she alleged influenced the election results,” Fox News reported. “Lake, on Wednesday, filed an appeal with the Appeals Court on Judge Thompson’s ruling. She also filed a motion to send the appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, asking to skip a step with the Appeals Court. Arizona’s Supreme Court denied the request to transfer the appeal.”
In its decision, the Arizona Supreme Court said, “no good cause appears to transfer the matter to this court.”
Lake provided an update on Wednesday night via Twitter: “My court case will be going before the Appeals Court prior to the Arizona Supreme Court because it’s already been scheduled for review. This decision was done without prejudice & I am confident the case will end up in their hands eventually. We’re moving forward.”
My court case will be going before the Appeals Court prior to the Arizona Supreme Court because it's already been scheduled for review.
This decision was done without prejudice & I am confident the case will end up in their hands eventually.
We're moving forward.
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) January 5, 2023
Lake revealed last week that she is open to a hand recount after her election loss to Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs, who was sworn in on Jan. 2, by around 17,000 votes.
In response to a Twitter user calling for a “full hand recount of all AZ ballots,” Lake replied with three simple words: “Yes. We. Do.”
Lake is asking the Arizona Court of Appeals to reconsider all 10 counts of a lawsuit that were tossed by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
Lake is also asking the appeals court to overturn the decision for her to pay $33,000 in fees to Hobbs.
Judge Peter Thompson denied a request from Hobbs seeking sanctions against Lake.
