Arizona’s gubernatorial election has been called for Democrat Katie Hobbs, dealing a defeat for Republican candidate Kari Lake.
The race now shows 50.4% of the vote for Hobbs and 49.6% for Lake, with 98% reporting.
However, under Arizona law, the election will now likely go to a recount.
The race for the governor’s office has been fraught with controversy.
Voting machine “glitches” in heavily Republican areas on Election Day, missing ballots, and delays of almost a week in counting votes have outraged Americans everywhere.
Lake has also called for her challenger to recuse herself from the race due to Hobbs’ role as secretary of state making her the person in charge of Arizona’s elections.
Lake is a former TV news anchor who stepped down last year after 22 years with the Fox affiliate in Phoenix to run for governor.
Thanks in part to her strong support for President Donald Trump, Trump endorsed and heavily backed Lake as she narrowly won the GOP nomination over a candidate backed by Gov. Doug Ducey (R).
Almost immediately after she won the nomination, the media launched a smear campaign against Lake to brand her an “election denier.”
Lake highlighted her “common sense conservatism” as she centered her campaign on the issues of border security, homelessness, banning critical race theory in Arizona classrooms, support for school choice, and opposition to abortion.
Hobbs, a former social worker who later served in the Arizona state House and state Senate, was elected Secretary of State in 2018.
Hobbs gained national attention for defending Arizona’s controversial election results — it was one of a handful of states where now-President Biden narrowly edged Trump.
Lake heavily criticized Hobbs for refusing to take part in gubernatorial debates.
Hobbs claimed that debating Lake would result in giving a platform to “conspiracy theories.”
Despite the polls predicting victory for Lake, who has gained national attention as a rising star in the GOP, the race has now been called in favor of the person in charge of the state’s elections.
Meanwhile, Lake has conveniently been branded an “election denier.”
