The Arizona race for governor is taking a red turn Wednesday morning after a blue night Tuesday. Republican Kari Lake now sits within one percentage point of her opponent Katie Hobbs, and Lake’s campaign is confident their candidate will continue to outperform her Democrat rival, Katie Hobbs.
“We are confident that every drop moving forward will be a net positive for [Kari Lake]. It’s a marathon not a sprint,” said her campaign.
We are confident that every drop moving forward will be a net positive for @KariLake.
It's a marathon not a sprint.#Karizona
— Kari Lake War Room (@KariLakeWarRoom) November 9, 2022
According to The Associated Press and Fox 10, Hobbs has a small lead at 50.3 percent of the votes compared to Lake’s 49.7 – less than a point apart. As of press time, the state has tabulated an estimated 66 percent of the votes cast in this race.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) held an election results watch party, although initial results did not appear to be the red wave Republicans were hoping for. Democrats led in several statewide races and by double digits in most cases.
However, Republican enthusiasm did not fade through the night. George Khalaf, a pollster for Data Orbital, told The Sun Times that early votes, which the state counts first, would favor Democrats, but the day of ballots counted later in the night and following days would lean red. Essentially, initial results are not guaranteed to represent the final winner.
In fact, despite being 13 percent down against Hobbs at the time, Lake declared that her victory was coming at the party.
“We will not stop fighting until we have every legal vote is counted. So, we’re going to be patient, guys,” Lake said. “We will take the victory when it comes, and we will turn this 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
Now, Hobbs’s once commanding lead has nearly evaporated. Throughout the night, Lake pointed out the batches of counted voters all pointed towards her victory. In Yume and Greenlee Counties, 4,749 votes were counted in one set, with 76.4 percent going to Lake. Additionally, a similarly sized batch from Cochise County went 82.3 percent in her favor over Hobbs. With a large chunk of votes yet to be counted, it is still too early to declare victory either way.
As for the other races, they are also too close to call. Republican Blake Masters currently trails incumbent Mark Kelly (D) by 5 percent, 46.4 to 51.4. Yet, his campaign tweeted that they are confident the remaining ballots will give him the push needed to win. Masters trailed in most polls early on in this election cycle, but his campaign began picking up steam in the final weeks, making the race appear much closer than it once did.
Republican Secretary of State State nominee Rep. Mark Finchem (R-Oro Valley) is also five points behind Democrat Adrian Fontes. As reported by The Sun Times, Finchem shares the other Republican’s confidence his victory will come in due time.
The Attorney General’s race is neck-and-neck, with Trump-endorsed Abe Hamadeh in a statistical tie with Democrat Kris Mayes at 49.9 to 50.1 percent. Hamadeh spoke at the party Tuesday, where he declared his victory would come and promised to work in the office to ensure Arizonans can know the results of an election on the night of when in office.
.@AbrahamHamadeh: "You all know me as a happy warrior, right? I'll tell you right now. Come January, me and Governor @KariLake will fix this mess." pic.twitter.com/Tdz2CJzQEr
— Abe Hamadeh War Room (@AbeWarRoom) November 9, 2022
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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].
Photo “Kari Lake” by Kari Lake.Â
