Hobbs, who is Arizona’s secretary of state, has emerged as a staunch defender of the legitimacy of the last election and warned that her Republican opponent, former television news anchor Cary Lake, would be an agent of chaos. Hobbs’ victory adds further evidence that Trump is straining his allies in a critical battleground state as the former president prepares to announce a 2024 presidential bid. He will succeed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who was barred by term limits laws from running again. She is the first Democrat to be elected governor in Arizona since Janet Napolitano in 2006. “To the people of Arizona who didn’t vote for me, I will work just as hard for you — because even in this divisive moment, I believe there is so much more that connects us,” Hobbs said in a statement declaring victory. “This wasn’t just about an election — it was about moving this state forward and meeting the challenges of our generation.” Lake tweeted after the call: “Arizona knows BS when they see it.” The Associated Press called the governor’s race for Hobbs after the latest round of voting gave her a lead large enough that the AP decided it would not relinquish it. The AP concluded that even though Lake was posting increasingly large margins in poll updates from Maricopa County, she was not gaining a large enough share to overtake Hobbs and ran out of the remaining votes. Counting had continued for days since Tuesday’s election, as officials continued to tally huge amounts of late-arriving ballots. A once Republican stronghold where Democrats made gains under Trump, Arizona has been central to efforts by Trump and his allies to challenge Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory with false allegations of fraud. This year, many Trump-endorsed candidates dropped out in the general election in battleground states, although his pick in the Nevada governor’s race, Republican Joe Lombardo, defeated a Democratic incumbent. Before entering politics, Hobbs was a social worker working with homeless youth and an executive with a large domestic violence shelter in the Phoenix area. He was elected to the state legislature in 2010, serving one term in the House and three terms in the Senate, rising to minority leader. Hobbs won a narrow victory in 2018 as secretary of state and found himself at the center of a political firestorm as Arizona became the focus of efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost. He appeared constantly on cable news defending the integrity of the vote count. The attention allowed her to raise millions of dollars and raise her profile. When she announced her campaign for governor, other prominent Democrats declined to run, and Hobbs comfortably won her primary. He ran a careful campaign, sticking largely to scripted and choreographed public appearances. He refused to engage in a debate with Lake, claiming that Lake would turn it into a spectacle by promoting conspiracy theories and making false accusations. Instead, he bet voters would reject Lake, who picked verbal spats with reporters as cameras rolled and struck a combative tone toward Democrats and even establishment Republicans who have long dominated state government. Pre-election polls showed the race tied, but Hobbs’ victory still came as a surprise to many Democrats who feared her timidity would turn off voters. He beat expectations in Maricopa and Pima counties, the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas where the vast majority of Arizona voters live. She also spent a lot of time in rural areas, trying to minimize her losses in areas that traditionally support Republicans. Lake is well-known across much of the state, having bought the evening news in Phoenix for more than two decades. He ran as a vocal critic of the mainstream media, which he said is unfair to Republicans. She won Trump’s admiration for her firm commitment to challenge the results of the 2020 election, a stance she never wavered from even after winning the GOP primary. He falsely accused election officials of slowing down vote counts this year and prioritizing Democratic ballots as he narrowly trailed Hobbs for days after the election. Lake reported a problem with printers at about a third of Maricopa County’s polling places that led field tabulators to reject some ballots. Election officials told voters to put the ballots in a separate box to be counted later, but Republican leaders told supporters to ignore those instructions and the lines supported in some places. The problem affected about 7% of in-person ballots cast on Election Day and about 1% of all ballots cast in the county. Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone said he increased security around the polling place Monday in anticipation that the race would be called and emotions could flare, though he said there was no specific threat. Protesters have gathered outside the building for several days but have remained peaceful, he said. “I think we’re getting close to the end of the game, so I want to make sure we’re prepared,” Penzone told reporters at a news conference hours before the game was called. The sheriff’s office was caught off guard two years ago when armed and angry protesters descended on an election building in downtown Phoenix after Fox News and the AP called Arizona for Biden, marking the first time a Democrat won the state in more than since two decades.
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