Democrat Kris Mayes wins Arizona attorney general race, recount confirms, after one of the closest races in state history
Misty Severi
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A recount of votes in the race for Arizona attorney general confirmed Democrat Kris Mayes‘s win Thursday in one of the closest elections in state history.
Mayes defeated Republican challenger Abraham Hamadeh by 280 votes, according to the results from Maricopa County Superior Court.
The results were even closer than the original count during the midterm elections, which saw Mayes lead by 511 votes, but the reason for the discrepancy was not clear.
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“A shockingly high discrepancy,” Hamadeh tweeted. “Again, a recount just puts the ballots in the machine again. My legal team will be assessing our options to make sure every vote is counted.”
Hamadeh did not concede the race and filed a separate lawsuit that challenged the attorney general race, alleging there were problems with ballot printers in Maricopa County. The challenge was dismissed by a judge last week.
Hamadeh tried to delay the results of the attorney general race again when the discrepancy was reported. However, Judge Timothy Thomason rejected the request and claimed that Mayes was the clear winner.
Thomason also announced the results of recounts in two other races. Republican Tom Horne won a spot as state superintendent of public instruction, and Republican Liz Harris won a state legislative seat in the Phoenix suburbs, according to Politico. Recounts in all three races were immediately triggered after the midterm elections because of how close the races were.
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The Democratic victory marked another win for the party in a historically conservative state. Democrat Katie Hobbs won her race for governor, defeating challenger Kari Lake. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) was reelected to the Senate, and Democrat Adrian Fontes was elected as the next secretary of state. Although Hobbs’s race against Lake was close, it was not enough to trigger an automatic recount.