Ruben Gallego pinned down Kari Lake at their debate Wednesday with one question she cannot answer: did she, or did she not, win Arizona’s 2022 gubernatorial election?

For the last two years, Lake has filed numerous lawsuits contesting her loss, all of which have been dismissed. She continues to claim her victory was stolen, repeating the lie in interviews and campaign rallies. (Democrat Katie Hobbs defeated Lake by nearly 18,000 votes.)

On the debate stage Wednesday, Gallego posed the inquiry head on. “Will you finally tell the people of Arizona, did you win or loss that election?” he asked.

Without missing a beat, Lake pivoted to… water. All of that lying is making her parched!

“Can I talk about water really quickly?” she responded.

With that deflection, Kari Lake’s senatorial candidacy went up the creek. Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt, baby!

For context, it’s worth mentioning that Gallego’s aside came during a section on climate charge, so Lake’s focus on H2O wasn’t completely out of nowhere. But he asked her numerous times about her election lies, and she sidestepped every single time.

The numbers show that Lake’s refusal to accept reality isn’t resonating with Arizona voters. Gallego is ahead of the MAGA anti-drag queen in every poll, sometimes by double digits.  Among 11 polls of likely Arizona voters taken in September, Gallego led all 11 by margins ranging from 4 to 14 points.

Overall, Gallego has led in 45 of the 48 polls taken in the race since Kyrsten Sinema announced she wouldn’t run for reelection.

A five-term congressman from the Phoenix area, Gallego is building a wide coalition. He’s raked up the endorsements of 40 prominent Arizona Republicans and Independents, as well as the Arizona Police Association.

Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County Recorder who sued Lake for defamation, attended Gallego’s debate watch party. (Lake gave up on the case and declined to defend herself against Richer’s claims.)

Perhaps most troublingly for Lake, Gallego is making inroads with Trump supporters, too. An astonishing 17% of likely Trump voters in Arizona say they also intend to pull the lever for him.

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Those deflections must hurt Lake on a personal level, considering her dedication to all things MAGA. Despite running for Senate in Arizona, she’s spent a sizable portion of her time at Mar-a-Lago, much to Trump’s reported annoyance.

Gallego reminded voters of the fact Wednesday. “You’ve been to Mar-a-Lago more than you’ve been to the border,” he said at one point.

Lake, a former TV news anchor, couldn’t muster a coherent comeback. “I’ve been to the border probably more times than you’ve been to Arizona,” she replied.

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Lake also didn’t make any sense when talking about reproductive rights. She’s taken every conceivable stance on abortion, from praising Arizona’s near-total ban as a “great law” to calling for the legislature to overturn the statute.

On Wednesday, Lake tried to improve her credibility on the topic, assuring voters she comes from a “family of women.”

“I have a daughter of my own, and many nieces and nephews,” she added.

Lake proceeded to incorrectly label “IVF” as “UVF.”

“I want to make sure that ‘UVF’ is protected. I have many friends who are here. They are here today, because of ‘UVF.’ Many of my friends have had children and experienced the joy of motherhood and parenthood because of ‘UVF,'” she added.

For two years, Lake has refused to accept reality on nearly all fronts. With the campaign now in its final stretch, Gallego has ensured her hole is only getting deeper.

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