Days before the state’s August 2 primary, Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake appeared on a QAnon show where she asked viewers to donate to her campaign and vote for her. The hosts also endorsed her; invoked the QAnon conspiracy theory’s central figure and mentioned other QAnon figures; and seemingly bragged that her interview showed the influence of the “anons.”

On July 29, Lake, a frontrunner in the primary, appeared on the MatrixxxGrooove Show (or MG Show), which is co-hosted by QAnon influencer Jeffrey Pedersen. (Pedersen is known online as “intheMatrixxx” and Lake has previously been photographed with him.) During the interview, Pedersen asked viewers to donate “$17, $20, $50, you know, to help her get to the final stretch, maybe get some TV ads out there”; 17 is a reference to “Q,” the conspiracy theory’s central figure, being the 17th letter of the alphabet. He also urged Lake to use one of his followers who has “such a beautiful voice” for her campaign events.

Lake also asked viewers to “vote early, if you can, vote on election day,” to donate to her campaign, and to “let your friends and relatives in Arizona know how much is on the line right now.” Pedersen also mentioned other QAnon influencers and a QAnon influencer collective that he is a part of, and he urged viewers to vote for Lake. Lake also said it was “a real pleasure” to meet the show’s co-hosts, and Pedersen said that “MG Show endorses Kari Lake for Arizona governor.”

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.