Nearly a full week after Election Day, the Arizona gubernatorial race was called in Democrat Katie Hobbs' favor, who had been running against Republican Kari Lake.
Decision Desk HQ called the race at 8:50pm EST, shortly after the last drop came from Maricopa County. With over 99 percent of the vote in, Hobbs leads with 50.41 percent of the vote compared to Lake's 49.59 percent.
Decision Desk HQ projects Katie Hobbs (D) elected governor in Arizona.
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 15, 2022
R to D Flip.#DecisionMade: 8:50pm EST
Follow more results here: https://t.co/erllKAE1oN pic.twitter.com/tPr9aZOKBk
The numerous delays and other issues that were the cause of much consternation and eyebrow raising, as well as even lawsuits and threats of legal action, were focused on Maricopa County, which has experienced issues in past elections. Hobbs also was the face of criticism, as she currently serves the state's chief election officer in her role of secretary of state.
Hobbs very much had an entitled smugness about her during the campaign, as she refused to debate primary opponents or even Lake ahead of the general election. While even CNN's Dana Bash, angry op-eds, and fellow Democrats questioned such a tactic, Hobbs remained dismissive about the benefits of debating throughout.
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Although the state's U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters had been called by this point--with Kelly on Friday night projected to win reelection--that race also took several days to call.
While Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) is term-limited and was not eligible to run for reelection, this race represents a flip from Republican to Democratic control. Ducey also co-chaired the Republican Governors Association (RGA).
Republicans did pick up a governor's race in Nevada, where Joe Lombardo was projected the winner on Saturday night against Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.
That Hobbs was ultimately declared the winner is another instance of where the polls were overall wrong. Republican, Democrat, and non-partisan polls alike showed Lake with a small but consistent win leading up to Election Day, according to RealClearPolitics (RCP), where Lake had a +3.5 lead.
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