Kimberly Yee to Continue Work as Arizona State Treasurer Following Strong General Election Victory

Neil Jones

Arizona voters have chosen to keep Republican incumbent Kimberly Yee in office as state treasurer for another four years.

“I am so honored that you have elected me to serve another four years as your State Treasurer. I pledge to continue to live up to the trust Arizonans have placed in me to responsibly and prudently manage our state’s finances,” Yee tweeted upon her victory.

The Arizona Sun Times reached out to the Yee campaign for additional comments but did not receive a response before publication.

As of this writing, Yee leads her opponent, State Senator Martín Quezada (D-Phoenix), by nearly 280,000 votes. With 48,033 ballots left uncounted in Arizona, Yee is ahead by 10 percent, the largest lead in any of the big-ticket Arizona state races.

“It is a privilege to continue to serve the Great State of Arizona as Treasurer and I am committed to protecting your taxpayer dollars and expanding opportunity for ALL Arizonans, while serving with humility knowing that I work for YOU. Thank you, Arizona,” Yee said.

As Treasurer, Yee is in charge of Arizona’s $68 billion state budget, making investments, and paying Arizona agencies.

As reported by The Sun Times, Yee has also devoted herself to ensuring that any company Arizona does business with follows Arizona’s laws. In August, Yee called out Morningstar, Inc. for potential antisemitic behavior, which is prohibited under Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) § 35-393. She gave the company 30 days to prove it was not in any way boycotting Israel; if proof is not provided within that time period, she intends to put it on Arizona’s list of prohibited investments.

In October, Yee revealed that Morningstar was working to fix any anti-Israel bias in the company. However, to ensure results, Yee said her office would continue looking into the situation.

“I will continue to put pressure on Morningstar and denounce any company that attempts to discriminate against the people of Israel,” Yee said. “As Arizona’s Chief Banking and Investment Officer, I stand with Israel and will not allow companies to promote policies that are antisemitic and discriminatory against Israel in violation of Arizona law.”

Yee’s general election win is needed for Republicans in an otherwise purple list of state races. On Monday, major media outlets called the Arizona governor’s race in favor of Democrat Katie Hobbs. Before then, the media had already called the races for the U.S. Senate and secretary of state in Democrats’ favor. Yet, two races remain uncalled: attorney general (AG) and superintendent of public instruction (SPI).

Republican AG nominee Abe Hamadeh currently trails Kris Mayes by 2,231 votes, while Tom Horne leads his opponent, incumbent Kathy Hoffman (D), by 7,923. Both races are too close to call and will likely fall under Arizona’s automatic recount law. Under ARS § 16-661, any race with a margin of 0.5 or less triggers the automatic recount.

Arizonans also have one more day to cure ballots that have not been counted. Maricopa County Officials are in the process of contacting anyone who has run into trouble while verifying their mail-in vote; for example, the signature on the envelope not matching the signature in the county’s system. The deadline to get a ballot cured is Wednesday, November 16, by 5 p.m.

Arizonans can also check their ballot status to confirm it has been counted. Check ballot statuses 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].
Photo “Kimberly Yee” by Kimberly Yee for Arizona. Photo “Martín Quezada” by Senator Martín J. Quezada. Background Photo “Arizona State Capitol” by Gage Skidmore. CC BY-SA 2.0.

 

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