Democrat Kris Mayes defeats GOP's Abe Hamadeh in Arizona attorney general race after recount

Democrat Kris Mayes was confirmed as Arizona’s next attorney general after the results of a recount in the race were announced Thursday morning, though her margin of victory over Republican opponent Abe Hamadeh was cut nearly in half.

When initial election results were released, Mayes had a narrow 511-vote lead over Hamadeh, but after the recount, that lead shrunk to a razor-thin margin of 280 votes out of some 2.6 million ballots that were cast in November.

In the recount, which was triggered by a new law that requires a recount when the margin between the two candidates is 0.5% or less, Hamadeh gained 427 votes and Mayes gained 196.

“I will say once again that I’m thankful to everyone who took their time to vote, and democracy truly is a team sport,” Mayes said in a written statement.

Hamadeh filed a lawsuit challenging the results of the election, but it was dismissed last week by a Maricopa County judge.

Hamadeh continued to question the results of the election Thursday after the results of the recount were announced.

“We MUST get to the bottom of this election,” Hamadeh wrote in a tweet. “Transparent elections are fundamental to a democracy. A discrepancy this big in the recount calls for an inspection of ALL the ballots.”

The results of two more recounts were also announced Thursday morning, but none of the recounts impacted the outcome of the races.

Incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Republican Tom Horne came out of the recount with a 9,188-vote lead — gaining 221 votes in the recount — over incumbent Democrat Kathy Hoffman.

In the race for a seat in House District 13, Republican Liz Harris won by 275 votes over fellow Republican Julie Willoughby, with Harris gaining five votes in the recount.

“While discrepancies between the original tally and recount results occurred, the variance in this recount did not change the outcome,” Secretary of State Katie Hobbs wrote in a tweet. “The recount process provided an opportunity to ensure that all ballots cast are counted accurately and that the correct winner won.”

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