Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) on Wednesday congratulated Katie Hobbs (D) on her victory to succeed him after Republican candidate Kari Lake refused to concede the race.
Hobbs was declared the winner of the high-level gubernatorial race last week, and Ducey met with her on Wednesday and offered her full support to begin the transition amid GOP allegations of disenfranchisement. voters.
“Today I congratulated Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in a hard-fought race and offered her my full cooperation as she prepares to assume leadership of the State of Arizona,” said Ducey in a statement.
“My administration will strive to make this transition as smooth and transparent as possible,” he added. “Our duty is to ensure that Arizona’s 24th Governor and her team can get going and continue our state’s incredible momentum.”
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Lake, an ally of former President Trump, refused to concede the race despite Hobbs leading it by about 17,000 votes, a margin above the threshold that triggers an automatic recount.
Ahead of the election, the Arizona Republican repeatedly declined to say she would accept the race results.
Ducey in 2020 had drawn Trump’s ire after he refused to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
“We’ve all waited patiently for the democratic process to unfold,” Ducey said. “The people of Arizona have spoken, their votes have been counted, and we respect their decision. No matter who we voted for, we all have a stake in Arizona’s success. Our future is bright and unlimited. N Let us never forget that as we begin this new chapter in our state’s history.
Lake and others took particular aim at printer malfunctions on Election Day in Maricopa County, Arizona’s most populous jurisdiction that spans the Phoenix area.
County election officials acknowledged that 70 polling centers experienced printer issues, but insist that affected residents still had multiple ways to vote. They said the problem affected 7% of voters on Election Day.
But Lake released a series of videos of Maricopa voters that raised concerns about the voting process. However, many of these voters did not claim that they were ultimately denied the opportunity to vote.
The Republican National Committee joined the Arizona attorney general’s nominee in challenging the results of his race in a trial Tuesday night, though that contest is separated by a much smaller margin of just 510 votes.
