Arizona Democrat concedes defeat in race for state treasurer
Rachel Schilke
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Democratic Arizona state Sen. Martin Quezada conceded his race for state treasurer to Republican incumbent Kimberly Yee, who so far has received the most votes out of any candidate in the state for the midterm elections.
Quezada received 995,535 votes, compared to Yee, who had 1,231,409, at the time of the concession on Sunday.
With election results continuing to roll in, Quezada said he “usually waits ’til all ballots are counted,” but he determined that it is appropriate for him now to concede given the voting numbers.
MARICOPA COUNTY OFFICIALS SAY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF ARIZONA VOTES REMAIN UNCOUNTED
He congratulated Yee on her reelection and that he will “wish her nothing but success and joy in her 2nd term.”
“Although we disagree passionately on (almost ALL of) the issues, after serving w/ her in both the #AZHouse and the #AZSenate, I know she is a good person who deserves our respect and our support,” he wrote.
He added that people should celebrate her for being the first Asian woman to have been elected to the Arizona legislature and the first GOP Chinese woman to be both elected and reelected to a major statewide office.
“I thank you for entrusting me w/ the most precious thing you have in our democracy: your vote,” he wrote. “To the nearly 1.2M who didn’t support me, I thank you for considering me and for participating in the democratic process. Your vote means something, and I respect your decision.”
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Quezada’s concession comes as Arizona continues to tally votes. Technological mishaps in Maricopa County required thousands of voters to be turned away and sent to new polling locations, leading to increased scrutiny over the election process in the state’s most populous county, though local officials insist all votes will be counted.
Arizona residents are still waiting for the governor’s race to be called. Current numbers show Democrat Katie Hobbs leading Republican Kari Lake, 50.8% to 49.3% with 88.3% of votes counted.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly was projected to be reelected to the Senate, defeating Republican challenger Blake Masters. Democratic attorney Adrian Fontes defeated Republican election denier Mark Finchem to become Arizona’s next secretary of state.