Live voting updates from across the state
Going into Wednesday, only two statewide races remain undecided: attorney general and superintendent of public instruction. In addition, Proposition 309, which would impose stricter voter identification requirements, is too close to call.
Katie Hobbs has won election as the state’s fifth female governor, and several other big races were called after Maricopa and Pima counties updated their results Monday evening with big batches of ballots.
Catch up on earlier news here.
Follow coverage of Arizona’s midterm election by Republic reporters here.
10:30 a.m. Wednesday: Educator asks voters to ensure their ballots were counted
Arizona labor leaders celebrated Democrat Katie Hobbs’ win in the governor’s race at the state Capitol on Wednesday morning but said there’s still another race to win — superintendent of public instruction.
Eight counties, including Maricopa Count, released new ballot tallies Tuesday, leaving incumbent Democrat Kathy Hoffman trailing Republican Tom Horne by nearly 9,000 votes. Horne is a former superintendent who is against bilingual education.
Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association, urged voters to make sure that their votes have been counted.
“We are out there curing votes. We know that people want her to stay,” Garcia said of Hoffman. “We want to make sure every eligible voter has their voice heard.”
Elections offices track ballots and provide their status to the individual voter through online tools. To check on the status of your ballot go to https://my.arizona.vote/PortalList.aspx.
If you live in Maricopa County, its tracker provides more detailed information at https://recorder.maricopa.gov/earlyvotingballot/earlyvotingballotstatus.aspx.
Garcia, an eighth grade social studies teacher in the Isaac School District, celebrated Hobbs’ win, saying parents and educators now have “a friend on the ninth floor.”
Jason Henley, president of AFSCME Local 2384, said that the midterm election results have given him hope.
“I’m really proud of what is going on in my state today,” he said.
Henley said labor workers will be urging Hobbs to pursue an agenda that encourages higher wages” at this time of skyrocketing inflation.”
Arizona labor leaders and other Democrat community organizations on Wednesday say a political infrastructure that was built over the past 16 years helped Hobbs win the governor’s race.
“This win is a result of directly impacted community leaders mobilizing millions of Arizonans in order to elect leaders whose values reflect those of hard working Arizonans,” a statement from the group says.
— Stephanie Innes
8:10 p.m. Tuesday: Maricopa County releases tally of 4,000 more ballots Tuesday
Maricopa County election officials dropped results from another 4,000 ballots Tuesday evening, including some of its remaining Election Day ballots cast via “door 3,” a secure box used for ballots that could not be read by polling site tabulation machines.
The drop leaves the county with at least 6,500 ballots to tally. Most are early ballots that require signature curing. When election workers cannot verify a voter’s signature on a ballot envelope against the voter’s signature on file, officials try to reach the voter to verify the ballot’s eligibility.
The deadline for voters to cure signatures is 5 p.m. Wednesday. Voters can check the status of their early ballot at https://www.arizona.vote/.
Small result drops are expected to continue throughout the week. About 28,000 votes remain to be counted statewide.
— Sasha Hupka
7:50 p.m.: Voters approve 60% requirement for ballot measure taxes
Voters approved Proposition 132 on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press.
“Yes” led “no” 50.7% to 49.3% following Tuesday’s ballot tallies from eight counties. Nearly 34,000 votes separate “yes” and “no.”
The proposition will require 60% of voters to approve any new tax imposed via a ballot measure.
— Anne Ryman
7:45 p.m.: Voters opposing tighter voter identification requirements
Voters appear to be on track to reject Proposition 309.
“No” was leading “yes” 50.4% to 49.6% following Tuesday’s ballot tallies from eight counties. The “no” votes were leading by about 19,650 votes.
The proposition would tighten identification requirements for voters, both those who vote by mail and those who vote at the polls on Election Day.
If it passes, early voters would get an extra piece of paper — an affidavit — in their ballot packet. The affidavit would require the voter’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number, their date of birth and their signature.
For in-person voters, a non-expired photo identification would become a must. Currently, voters can produce two pieces of non-photographic evidence in lieu of a photo ID. The measure requires a current photo ID, such as a driver’s license or a tribal ID issued by a tribal government.
The photo ID would have to display an address that matches the voter’s address on the voter registration rolls. If that is not the case — for example, passports don’t have the owner’s address — the voter would have to show other forms of ID, such as a utility bill, a credit card bill or another document that shows their current address.
— Anne Ryman and Mary Jo Pitzl
7:15 p.m.: Mayes holds narrow lead in attorney general race
Democrat Kris Mayes held a narrow lead over Republican Abe Hamadeh in the race to become Arizona’s next attorney general following ballot tallies released Tuesday night by Maricopa County.
New ballot tallies were also released Tuesday by Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Mohave, Navajo, Pima and Pinal counties.
— Anne Ryman
7:05 p.m.: Horne stays in lead in superintendent race
Former superintendent and anti-bilingual education crusader Tom Horne kept his lead Tuesday over incumbent Democrat Kathy Hoffman in the race for superintendent of public instruction.
New ballot tallies were released Tuesday by Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima and Pinal counties.
The role of superintendent is largely an administrative job, not a policy-creation one.
Arizona’s superintendent can shake up educational priorities through public comment, but the role’s sphere of influence centers on pursuits like overseeing teacher certification, doling out funds, lobbying the Legislature and executing state and federal education laws.
— Anne Ryman
4:35 p.m.: How do election workers stay fueled during the count?
Fruit snacks and chips. Cookies and doughnuts. Salads and trail mix. Tacos and hot dogs.
All of these things made up the diet of officials and workers at Maricopa County’s election headquarters over the course of election week.
To the tune of about $30,000, Maricopa County officials paid food trucks to park outside its election center and dispense 2,700 meals to employees from Wednesday through Friday.
Options included nachos, pitas, burgers, tacos and hot dogs. Officials said election season is stressful and tiring for staff, and they wanted to ensure everyone was well fed during a time of long hours and intense pressure.
In the facility’s employee breakroom, staff could munch on chips, cookies, pretzels, applesauce and Welch’s fruit snacks. Water bottles were also available.
Sheriff’s deputies stationed outside, who changed day to day, told The Republic that they generally brought their own meals. Journalists in the lobby of the elections building, ethically bound to buy their own food, munched on a variety of eats from restaurants such as Starbucks, Rubio’s and Chipotle.
Elections workers who consistently wanted healthy food were better off bringing it from home, said Elections Director Scott Jarrett, who usually brought his own lunch.
“When I find time to grab a snack or a meal, it might be an apple or something,” he said as he drank water out of a Hard Rock Café mug in his office.
Still, Jarrett admitted to hitting up the food trucks “a few times” during the week.
— Sasha Hupka
2:30 p.m.: Smaller batch of Maricopa County votes to come Tuesday evening
Maricopa County officials said they will release “a few thousand” new results between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday.
The results will include some of the outstanding 3,500 ballots cast on Election Day via “door 3,” a secure box Maricopa County polling sites use for ballots that could not be read by on-site tabulation machines.
There are 5,000 to 15,000 ballots yet to be counted in Maricopa County, and officials said Tuesday that they remain on target to release full unofficial results within 10 to 12 days after the election. That time estimate is normal for the county and lands between Friday, Nov. 18, and Sunday, Nov. 20.
Although Arizona’s intensely watched governor’s race has been called by multiple media outlets, the attorney general’s race, the superintendent of public instruction contest and several seats in the Legislature remain in question. Less than 50,000 ballots remain to be tallied statewide.
By law, county officials have until Nov. 28 to wrap up counting. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors plans to canvass, or certify, the results of the election on that date. Any automatic recounts would come later.
— Sasha Hupka
2:00 p.m.: Barto concedes to Marsh in competitive Legislative District 4 race
Veteran Arizona legislator Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, conceded her race Tuesday to Sen. Christine Marsh, D-Phoenix, following a week of vote counting.
Last year’s redrawing of legislative district maps played a role in Barto’s defeat, pitting her against another incumbent lawmaker who had previously been in a separate district.
Though the new Legislative District 4, which includes Paradise Valley and part of north Phoenix and north Scottsdale, leans Republican, it’s also one of five districts — out of 30 total — designed to be highly competitive between Republicans and Democrats.
Abortion rights and support for public schools loomed large as issues in the race, providing tailwinds for Marsh.
Barto sponsored the state’s new ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy that allows exceptions to save a mother’s life but not for rape or incest victims.
Marsh, a teacher, also advocated against private school vouchers, which Barto supported.
“I congratulate my opponent on her victory,” Barto said in a concession statement Tuesday. “This was a hard-fought race and both campaigns stayed focused on the issues.”
Barto has served in the Legislature since 2007 and is known as an expert on mental health policy. Marsh was first elected to the state Senate in 2020.
— Ray Stern
1:30 p.m.: Masters concedes to Kelly
Republican Senate candidate Blake Masters congratulated Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly Tuesday on his reelection win, signaling a controversy-free ending to one of Arizona’s most-watched races.
People familiar with the call described it as cordial, with each man expressing “mutual respect” for the other.
The call brings a pedestrian ending to a race that from the outset carried major national implications for the U.S. Senate.
Kelly’s win helped Democrats preserve control of the chamber, and, if Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., wins the runoff election next month, the party would gain a seat in a remarkable reversal of longstanding midterm history.
— Ronald J. Hansen
1 p.m.: 3 Maricopa County judges may soon lose their positions
Statewide, five Arizona Court of Appeals judges and two other Arizona Supreme Court judges led in favor of retention, the latest midterm election results show.
But in the Maricopa County Superior Court judges’ retention elections, three of 47 were trailing heavily, and their losing margins narrowed Monday. Superior Court Judge Stephen Hopkins, who was the only judge not to meet state performance standards this year, was losing handily with the largest number of votes against retention.
Superior Court Judge Hopkins would need about 250,000 votes to flip votes in favor of retention while Howard Sukenic needed 180,000. Rusty Crandell had the narrowest gap to span, trailing 36,000 votes to keep his job.
Countywide, between about 5,000 and 14,500 miscellaneous batches of votes still remain to be counted.
The prospect of Maricopa County voters possibly removing two or three superior court judges would be historic, if results hold. Since 2000, they have only removed one.
— Miguel Torres
12:55 p.m.: Two Phoenix City Council races are heading toward runoffs
Phoenix’s two most competitive City Council contests are heading toward runoffs this March, after the last big batch of votes were counted Monday.
Runoffs occur when no single candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.
Countywide, between around 5,000 and about 14,500 miscellaneous batches of votes still remain to be counted. It’s unknown how many of those are in Phoenix.
Half of the city’s eight council seats are on the ballot, but the race to represent District 6 in Arcadia, the Biltmore area and parts of north-central Phoenix and District 8 in south Phoenix are the most competitive.
County elections officials said they would continue to count ballots from the Nov. 8 election early this week.
In District 6, the top two votegetters are headed to a runoff, though it’s unclear who those two will be. Kevin Robinson pulled ahead in the open field of eight candidates vying to replace termed-out Sal DiCiccio.
At last count, Robinson had just over 12,000 votes. Trailing him were three candidates all within about 550 votes of each other.
Sam Stone had about 10,500 votes, Moses Sanchez a little more than 10,030, and Joan Greene 9,950.
About 89,000 ballots were cast in that race.
In District 8, incumbent Carlos Garcia held a slim lead over challenger Kesha Hodge Washington, with 39% and 38% of the vote, respectively. They outpaced the rest of the field by around 9,000 votes in a race in which 45,000 were cast.
District 2 incumbent Jim Waring defeated his two challengers to represent part of north Phoenix. Laura Pastor, who ran unopposed, will represent part of west Phoenix in District 4.
— Sean Holstege and Taylor Seely
12:50 p.m.: Beck widens his lead in Peoria mayor’s race
Businessman Jason Beck widened his lead over longtime council member Bridget Binsbacher in the race for Peoria mayor with almost all votes released Monday night.
Countywide, between about 5,000 and 14,500 miscellaneous batches of votes still remain to be counted. It’s not known how many remain uncounted in Peoria.
In a Facebook post on Sunday evening, Beck said he was confident he would win.
“We love Peoria and we are grateful for all who have served our community,” Beck wrote.
— Taylor Seely and Corina Vanek
12:45 p.m.: Buchli’s lead over Spence grows in Gilbert Town Council race
Bobbi Buchli’s lead grew over Bill Spence in the runoff for an open seat on Gilbert’s Town Council after nearly all remaining votes were counted Monday.
At last count, Buchli led by nearly 1,100 votes, by a 51-49% margin over Spence. More than 109,000 ballots have been counted.
Full election results may not be available for several days.
Countywide, between about 5,000 and 14,500 miscellaneous batches of votes still remain to be counted. It’s unknown how many are in Gilbert.
— Maritza Dominguez
12:30 p.m.: Cochise County supervisors file legal action over election recount
Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Tom Crosby on Monday filed a complaint in Cochise County Superior Court seeking an order for the county Elections Director to either recount nearly all the Election Day ballots cast or turn the ballots over to the recorder so he could run a hand count.
But the next day, those two supervisors failed to approve spending $10,000 to pay the lawyer who filed that complaint for them, Bryan Blehm.
Judd and Crosby previously pledged to pay for the legal fight themselves. When they brought up a $10,000 public contract to pay Blehm at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled county meeting, chaos ensued, with more than 20 residents voicing opposition to the contract.
Judd tried to pledge that she planned to pay the county back, but the county administrator said the contract had no such wording or requirement.
Crosby and Judd delayed a vote on the contract until Nov. 29. It’s unclear whether Blehm will continue to represent the supervisors immediately if he’s not going to be paid.
Judd and Crosby, along with County Recorder David Stevens, have already lost one case in court over their recount plans and the Arizona Supreme Court declined to intervene when they appealed.
— Ryan Randazzo
12:20 p.m.: Biggs makes a long-shot bid to be the next House speaker
Rep. Andy Biggs made official his longshot bid to be the House speaker when the next Congress convenes in Washington, in a move he framed as “changing the paradigm and the status quo.”
Biggs, R-Ariz., is challenging House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., whose hold on the GOP is more tenuous after the party posted only minor gains in the midterm elections rather the “red wave” many expected.
Biggs isn’t expected to topple McCarthy, but his candidacy makes clear the deep division within Republican ranks over the way forward in the next two years.
The move is sure to further raise the profile of Biggs, who may be best known nationally for his involvement in Washington and in Arizona in the effort led by former President Donald Trump to set aside the certified results of the 2020 election that culminated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
— Ronald J. Hansen
Noon: Engel concedes to Ciscomani in 6th Congressional District race
Democrat Kirsten Engel conceded to Republican Juan Ciscomani in their contest for an open U.S. House seat representing Arizona’s 6th Congressional District.
The close race was called for Ciscomani on Monday evening, and the two wrote on Twitter that they spoke on Tuesday.
“The people of this district have spoken and we must honor their decision. Just now I called Juan Ciscomani and gave him my sincere congratulations for being the people’s choice to represent AZ-06,” Engel wrote in a statement.
“He will have my support as he works to bring together this diverse district and represent all of us in Congress,” Engel continued.
“Thank you to every Arizonan who exercised their right to vote and participated in our democracy. Every Arizonan deserves to have their voice heard, and I am grateful to all of the election officials throughout our state that helped ensure our elections were safe, secure and fair,” Engel wrote.
Ciscomani wrote on Twitter that Engel congratulated him on the win after a “hard fought campaign” on both sides.
“I appreciate her civility and graciousness and wish her and her family all the best,” Ciscomani wrote in a tweet.
He said the district needs leaders focused on solutions and bringing people together.
“I recommit to being an independent voice for EVERYONE in our district — no matter your party affiliation or background. We are all Americans; we are all Arizonans. It’s time to deliver results for our district,” Ciscomani said in his statement.
— Alison Steinbach
11:45 a.m.: Mitchell’s lead widens in Maricopa County attorney’s race
As of the last count, incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell led challenger Gunnigle by a 53% to 47% margin.
Mitchell’s lead was up to 83,000 after the last large batch of votes was counted Monday evening. There are no more than about 14,500 and no fewer than around 5,000 votes remaining to be counted.
Mitchell declared victory on Monday, tweeting out her thanks to supporters and the community, saying she is “deeply honored” by the support and trust in her leadership.
Shortly after Mitchell tweeted out her win, Gunnigle conceded. The race “isn’t the result we were hoping for,” she said in a statement.
Gunnigle, a reform-minded Democrat, said her Republican opponent’s win means “a continuation of the legacy of corruption within the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Maricopa County residents deserve better.”
Voters faced a clear choice between two divergent approaches to criminal justice in the Maricopa County attorney’s race.
It pitted Republican Mitchell, the current county attorney who was appointed after the resignation of Allister Adel, against Gunnigle, an outsider and critic of the agency.
— Sean Holstege and Jimmy Jenkins
11:25 a.m.: Karrin Taylor Robson calls for Ward’s resignation
Candidate for governor Karrin Taylor Robson, defeated by Kari Lake in this year’s Republican primary, called for Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward to resign, saying her leadership of the party “has been an unmitigated disaster.”
Taylor Robson cited the party’s continuing failure to win big races, pointing to the state’s two Democratic U.S. senators. She acknowledged Katie Hobbs win against Lake in the governor’s race and called the party rudderless and leaderless.
“More concerned with stoking division and settling old scores, Kelli Ward has led our party into a deep morass with no real plan for the future,” Taylor Robson said.
Unmentioned by Taylor Robson: Ward also has been under investigation by the Jan. 6 committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
— Kathy Tulumello
More:US Supreme Court denies delaying release of Kelli Ward phone records to Jan. 6 committee
10:45 a.m.: Hobbs emphasizes unity in speech
Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs emphasized unity and bipartisan compromise in a speech Tuesday morning after winning the race against Republican challenger Kari Lake.
“Today is a good day for Arizona and a it’s good day for democracy,” said Hobbs, a Democrat. “For those Arizonans who didn’t vote for me, know that I will work just as hard for you.”
The Associated Press, NBC News and CNN called the race for Hobbs shortly after 7 p.m. Monday, following a nail-biter week of election returns that highlighted the competitiveness of politics in the state.
“I am honored to stand before you as governor-elect,” Hobbs said. “I also want to congratulate Sen. Mark Kelly on his re-election. And I’m thrilled to know that I will be handing the keys of the Secretary of State’s Office to Adrian Fontes.”
Hobbs said Arizonans chose “solving our problems over conspiracy theories, we chose sanity over chaos and we chose unity over division. We chose a better Arizona.”
The governor-elect said she would do “everything in my power to repeal the 1864 abortion ban that puts so many lives at risk,” and that she will work with Republicans and Democrats to invest in public schools, provide border communities with resources they need to keep Arizonans safe, and make state government more transparent.
“The voters sent us a loud and clear message. They rejected the chaos. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work,” she said. “This was not just about an election. This was about moving this state forward.”
— Stephanie Innes
8 a.m.: Ducey gives nod to ‘rising star’
Gov. Doug Ducey, attending a conference in Florida, on Monday evening tweeted his admiration for newly elected Juan Ciscomani, a Republican who worked as a Ducey aide for several years.
“@JuanCiscomani is a rising star in Arizona and the Republican Party. Our state’s 6th Congressional District will be fortunate to have him as their representative. I know firsthand how hard of a worker Juan is, and I know he will put in the hours to fight for Arizonans. Congrats!”
Ciscomani defeated Democrat Kirsten Engel, a former state senator, in the race for the seat left open by the retirement of U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.
Ciscomani, 40, is a native of Hermosillo, Sonora, but he grew up in Tucson as a first-generation American.
He went to public schools in Tucson and was the first in his family to graduate from college, after attending Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, per his campaign website.
After graduating, Ciscomani worked as a senior program development specialist at UA.
Ciscomani has said his family’s immigrant experience and growing up in a working-class family taught him the importance of hard work, conservative values and optimism.
Ciscomani and his wife, Laura, live in Tucson with their six children.
— Alison Steinbach
