Hobbs maintains lead over Lake in race for Arizona governor

PHOENIX — Democrat Katie Hobbs grew her lead Thursday evening over Republican Kari Lake in the race for Arizona governor.

Hobbs led 50.7%-49.3% in numbers released around 8 p.m. Thursday by the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office, up from her previous share of 50.3% on Wednesday evening.

Only 26,879 votes separate the candidates.

Lake, the former television news anchor with Fox 10, won the Republican nomination over Karrin Taylor Robson and centered her campaign around the values of former President Donald Trump.

Her television-ready demeanor, confrontations with journalists and combative message for Democrats made the first-time candidate a rising star on the right whose future in national politics is already being debated.

Hobbs, Arizona’s Secretary of State, easily won the Democratic nomination on the strength of her rebuttal of fraud claims pertaining to the 2020 election.

The two candidates never debated during the cycle, a decision Hobbs said was due to her belief Lake “was only interested in a spotlight and creating a spectacle.”

The results will be a window into the pulse of the electorate in Arizona, a longtime Republican stronghold that turned toward Democrats during the Trump era.

They’ll provide insight into whether Biden’s success here in 2020 was a onetime event or the onset of a long-term shift away from the GOP.

Tensions between Hobbs and Lake continued into the final weeks before the election.

Hobbs’ campaign office was broken into Oct. 24, a crime the Democrat attributed to Lake’s words and actions.

No link was found between the accused thief and Lake’s campaign.

Polling averages had the two candidates close in the months leading up to the election.

FiveThirtyEight had Lake up 2.4 percentage points, while RealClearPolitics had Lake with an advantage of 3.5 percentage points on Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923