Republican strategists asked Kari Lake to stop denigrating early ballots. Advisers wanted her to focus less on Trump’s false claims of voter fraud. After pushback from some members of Lake’s team, she spoke up and said group told her to mail in ballots. Lori Lake’s failed campaign offers a case study in how Trump has warped the GOP’s electoral prospects. Interviews, internal documents and voting data point to the reasons behind her defeat. She failed to execute a plan to court independents and centrist Republicans who decide elections in Arizona.
