ARIZONA -- On Sep 6th, in Phoenix, veterans Aaron Marquez and Gladys Vargas, and military spouse and mother Paloma Greenwald, denounced Kari Lake’s “documented pattern of her preference for authoritarian-led countries over her own,” underscoring the danger she poses to American democracy and Arizonans as she does and says anything to gain power.

“What shocks me the most about Kari Lake is her disregard for the sacrifice we as veterans have made to protect the country and ideals we love and hold in such high esteem,” said Aaron Marquez, who served two combat tours in Afghanistan in the Army. “Arizonans cannot trust Kari Lake to protect democracy because she praises authoritarians like Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán who oppose it. And not only that but she undermines democracy here at home by pushing election conspiracy theories and claiming she won in 2022 when we all know she did not. Kari Lake has shown us she will do or say anything to gain power.”

“Right here in Arizona, our values are also being challenged, by people like Kari Lake, who has repeatedly defended both Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin. Kari Lake, who has praised Orbán for, and I quote, ‘doing things right,’ and who has claimed that Hungary’s new undemocratic electoral policy is, and I quote again, ‘a great thing,’ said Gladys Vargas, Marine veteran. “We will not betray our values. And we will not elect Kari Lake to the Senate – a person who vows to slash veterans’ benefits, cozies up to dictators internationally and even seeks to free the January 6th insurrectionists.”

“Kari Lake has a documented, public record of backing foreign adversaries and authoritarians over American interests and American ideals like freedom and democracy. It’s dangerous, because it means she will do or say anything to gain and keep power,” said Paloma Greenwald, nurse of 25 years, and military spouse and mother whose husband served over 30 years in the Air Force, and whose son has just been commissioned into the Air Force. “We as Arizonans cannot trust Kari Lake to protect any freedoms but her own. We as Arizonans cannot trust Kari Lake to serve any interest but her own. She continues to undermine American democracy, to the delight of autocrats globally and insurrectionists domestically. And Kari Lake’s self-serving character and anti-democratic actions are an affront to families like mine who have dedicated our lives to service before self.”

Read more of Kari Lake’s record of  “consistently [coming] to Putin’s defense,” praising “the coolest dictator in the world,” and supporting Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán who can now “change the constitution to suit his ambitions.”