PHOENIX - Arizona finally has a new secretary of state. Democrat candidate Katie Hobbs declared victory Friday evening after her lead extended to more than 15,000 votes Friday afternoon.
She put out the following statement:
"Tonight we won the race for Arizona’s Secretary of State. I want to thank all of my supporters, volunteers, staff and Arizona voters for entrusting me with this responsibility. As Secretary of State, I will work to ensure that every eligible voter – Republican, Democrat, Independent, Green, Libertarian – can cast your ballot with the confidence that your vote counts and your voice matters, and do so in a way that is meaningful and convenient for you."
Republican candidate Steve Gaynor called Hobbs to concede the race Friday as well.
Earlier in the day, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he congratulated Hobbs on winning the secretary of state race against Gaynor.
"I said, 'congratulations, race well run, I'm looking forward to working with you and I think we can work well together,'" Gov. Ducey told Team 12's Brahm Resnik Friday.
Hobbs will be the first Democrat in the secretary of state's job in almost 25 years and will be the second highest-ranking political officer in the state under Gov. Ducey.
Hobbs more than doubled her lead Thursday to 13,199 votes. On Friday, she extended her lead to more than 15,000 votes. The rest of the 67,000 ballots left to process are in Maricopa and Pima counties, which have both trended toward Hobbs.
In the last four decades, five governor's have not finished their terms. Four of those times, the secretary of state has assumed the position.
After Gaynor led by 44,000 votes on election night, the Associated Press called the race in his favor.
But, just days after election night, Hobbs stormed all the way back, retaking the lead in the race by 150 votes on Sunday afternoon. AP retracted its call Monday.
Since then, Hobbs' lead has grown each day.
AP said they will not call the race again until Arizona election officials certify the results in a few weeks.
