Inside a Republican Electoral Party as Celebrations Turn into Disappointments and Allegations of Fraud | News from the United States

Arizona Republicans do election night differently.

In a luxurious country club in the suburb of Scottsdale, surrounded by palm trees, with numerous bars, pop music and piles of pizza, local members celebrated before the inevitable red tsunami.

Yet that nationwide republican wave never materialized: it was more of a wave than a wave.

The work on this “surveillance party” began with a prayer, the crowd promised an alliance with the United States and the national anthem was sung.

A bundle of red, white and blue balloons was attached to the ceiling in a large net, ready to be thrown at the moment of victory.

The star of the Arizona GOP show is Kari Lake, the Trump-backed candidate for governor who denies the election.

At 10 pm, with the results far from clear, she took the stage to the applause and choruses of the fans.

Ms Lake soon referred to “crooks and crooks”.

“How do you get free and fair elections?” He said. “You have to fight to make them fair and free”.

Kari Lake is a so-called “election denier” who has questioned Joe Biden’s victory in 2020.

Voting on Tuesday in the state was marred by technical problems with voting machines and queues of up to two hours long.

During the evening breaks, activists sat in front of giant screens to watch the nightly results show on the right-wing Fox News network.

The people we spoke to were disappointed and discouraged.

One man complained about the threat of Marxism in the United States.

A retired woman suggested there was clear evidence of fraud in recent contests. There is no evidence of this.

Others have drowned their pains.

By the time we left the event at 2:30 am, it was almost deserted, with hotel staff cleaning up and the balloon net still unhooked.

Arizona’s Trump-approved slate still has a chance of winning, but it will be closer than they hoped.