SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Election night is well underway in Arizona, and despite some issues during the day in Maricopa County, votes are currently being tabulated. At the time of writing, tallied votes show Democrats leading across the state, but a data expert said Republican victories are not out of the question yet.
“We’re not going to have answers tonight. As anticipated, the early ballots – counted first – have favored Democrats. But as day-of ballots begin to be counted tonight and tomorrow, we can expect Republicans to make strong gains. With Election Day ballots that have been counted so far, Kari is winning them by a margin of 42%. But it will take time,” said Data Orbital Pollster George Khalaf in a statement shared with The Arizona Sun Times.
The Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) held an election results watch party on Tuesday for a crowd of eager onlookers. Throughout the night, Republican figures roused the crowd with a central theme: the coming red tsunami. AZGOP Chairwoman Dr. Kelli Ward started the night off strong by emphasizing how important this election is for the future of this country and fighting back against the Biden administration. She said that any victory the Republican Party achieves in this election is only made possible through the people who took time out of their day to vote.
As of writing, results show every major race – U.S. Senate, governor, secretary of state, and attorney general – leaning for Democrats. Roughly 50 percent of the votes have been counted, and Democrats lead by double digits.
Yet, as Khalaf stated, these results were not unexpected. Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer predicted as much in September, and he also predicted momentum would begin to swing in Republicans’ favor as time goes on.
The current situation on election night is not altogether different from the August primary election. On the night of, Republican Kari Lake initially trailed her opponent Karrin Taylor Robson but overtook her in the following days to win the nomination. At the watch party, Lake spoke to the crowd and shared her confidence in achieving a similar victory in this election.
“I just want you to know it’s early. It’s very early, and if we have to take this fight through, we will. If it takes hours or days, we will,” Lake said. “We will take the victory when it comes. And we will turn this state around.”
"We will take the victory when it comes. And we will turn this state around!"
Watch @KariLake's full speech at the election night party! pic.twitter.com/cDgNDLcIbZ
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) November 9, 2022
Aside from Lake, Republican attorney general nominee Abe Hamadeh took the stage and said he wants to see a future in Arizona where people can know the results on election night.
“It’s unfortunate that we don’t have the results right now. Look at every other state. You have Florida, which has five times our population. They have their results tonight. How have we tolerated this here in Arizona?” Hamadeh asked the crowd. “Once every single vote is counted, I assure you we will be victorious.”
Hamadeh said he looked forward to working as attorney general with Lake as governor in January to clean up Arizona’s elections and ensure they are transparent and competent.
View live election result tallies here.
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Neil Jones is a reporter for The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Neil on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
