PHOENIX (KGUN) — After nearly a week of waiting for ballots to get counted, AP says Katie Hobbs has earned enough votes to become Arizona's governor for the next four years.
In a statewide race that grabbed national headlines both before and since Election Day, many Arizonans have eagerly awaited daily ballot updates since Tues. Nov. 8—particularly from Maricopa and Pima Counties.
Hobbs held a steady but narrow lead in the totals from the onset.
Throughout the week, the blue-leaning Pima County ballots would often indicate a lead for Democratic candidate Hobbs, current Secretary of State, only to have that lead diminished time and again with ballot reports from the red-leaning Maricopa County.
In the end, the math worked out in Hobbs favor, with AP calling the race.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Katie Hobbs overpowered Kari Lake in polling for most of the general election.
However, polls show the gap began narrowing around the middle of August.
That continued up until Tuesday, Oct. 11 when Lake eventually surpassed Hobbs.
Since Tuesday, Oct. 25, FiveThirtyEight's collected data reveals Lake has held a steady lead.
Before Election night was over on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Hobbs told KGUN 9, "We have seen the first results come in and we are feeling good about what we're seeing. That's because of all of the hard work that everyone in this room has put in!"
Lake too took the stage on Election night, confident in an eventual victory.
YOUR VOICE YOUR VOTE
Get more results from the2022 General Election. Results will display after 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 8 and will continuously update as new data is released.
——-
Caleb Fernández is a digital content producer for KGUN 9. After earning his bachelor's degree from Penn State in Advertising/Public Relations, Caleb went to New York where he learned production assistance, photography and art direction. Share your story ideas and important issues with Caleb by emailing caleb.fernandez@kgun9.com or by connecting on LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter.