Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake won't commit to honoring election results

WASHINGTON – Emulating Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for governor of Arizona repeatedly refused to say Sunday whether she would honor the results of her election – if she lost.

"I'm going to win the election and accept that result," Kari Lake said twice on CNN's "State of the Union."

Lake is among this election's most prominent "election deniers," Republicans who agree with Trump's false claims about his loss in the 2020 election and suggest they may file protests of their own after the November elections.

Public interest groups said Trump and his denier acolytes are threats to democracy, sowing distrust in the system because they know they cannot command a majority of voters. They said more protests after the 2022 elections will only fuel doubts about elections, despite mountains of evidence that they are fairly run.

Hundreds of election deniers are on ballots across the country this year.

Election deniers defined:Hundreds of elections deniers running for office nationwide in 2022 pose 'major threat' to U.S. democracy

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Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano and his lieutenant governor running mate, Carrie Lewis DelRosso, have refused to say they would honor the election results.

"We're not going to lose," DelRosso told a television interviewer from Harrisburg. "I'm a winner."

Arizona Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs, also appearing on CNN, said Lake has produced no evidence of voter fraud.

"This is absolutely disqualifying," said Hobbs, who is secretary of state in Arizona. "This is somebody who will have a level of authority over our state's elections, the ability to sign new legislation into law, the responsibility of certifying future elections."

During her CNN interview, Lake noted that Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams protested her loss in 2018 because of voter suppression concerns. "I don't hear CNN calling her an election denier," Lake said.

Election subversion?:Voter 'subversion': Trump Republicans push laws to make it easier to change elections, per report

After the 2020 election, Trump's complaints led to efforts by him and allies to overturn the results, including the insurrection and attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Democrats fear more protests in the future if candidates refuse to abide by the results.

During a fundraiser in Oregon over the weekend, President Joe Biden asked the crowd if they ever thought they'd see political candidates asked, "will you accept the outcome?"

"I'm being deadly earnest," Biden said. "Think about it."

Opinion: Are you aware of the chaos election deniers will bring? Let Kari Lake be a warning siren.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake may not honor election results