Democrat Katie Hobbs defeats Republican Kari Lake in Arizona governor's race

Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, has defeated Republican Kari Lake in the state's 2022 gubernatorial election. The Associated Press made the race call on Monday.

"Democracy is worth the wait. Thank you, Arizona. I am so honored and so proud to be your next Governor," Hobbs tweeted.

Arizona's current governor, Doug Ducey, is a Republican who entered office in 2015.

Former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who announced last month that she was ditching the Democratic Party, had endorsed Lake in the Arizona governor's race.

But Republican Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming had said that if she lived in Arizona, she would vote for Democrats for governor and secretary of state. When an ad by a Cheney-sponsored PAC targeted Lake, the gubernatorial candidate responded by suggesting that the ad amounted to a "generous in-kind" campaign contribution.

"Thank you for your generous in-kind contribution to my campaign," Lake declared in a message directed toward Cheney. "Your recent television ad urging Arizonans not to vote for me is doing just the opposite. Our campaign donations are skyrocketing and our website nearly crashed from traffic as people rushed to learn more about my plan to put Arizona First and join our historic political movement."

The Arizona governor's race is not the GOP's only high-profile loss this year in the state — Republican candidate Blake Masters lost to incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in a U.S. Senate contest.

"For my people who knocked on doors in 115 degree heat, and for the million+ Arizonans who put their faith in me, we are going to make sure that every legal vote is counted," Masters tweeted Saturday. "If, at the end, Senator Kelly has more of them than I do, then I will congratulate him on a hard-fought victory. But voters decide, not the media; let's count the votes."