Katie Hobbs Is Sworn in as Ariz. Governor Amidst Election Challenges and Scandals

Democrat Katie Hobbs took office on Jan. 2 as governor of Arizona, the first Democrat governor of the state since 2009. The private ceremony Monday at the State Capitol will be followed by a public inauguration on Thursday, the Associated Press said. Meanwhile, legal challenges to the shockingly crisis-plagued Arizona midterm election have highlighted the scandals of an election that some argue is illegitimate.

The AP claimed that Hobbs won because Republican candidate Kari Lake “struggled to connect with Arizona’s general electorate,” a strange statement considering Lake’s pre-election lead of 11 points in polls (including substantial numbers with independent voters) and Lake’s continuing popularity both in Arizona and nationwide.

It took over a week to count the votes in Arizona after an Election Day with astonishingly widespread printer issues and other irregularities, and Hobbs’s office pressured counties that hesitated to certify the election with a lawsuit and other threats of legal reprisals. Currently unsuccessful lawsuits from Lake and Arizona Republican Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh brought evidence of potentially election-altering irregularities.

During Lake’s election trial, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer testified to an apparent violation of state law on Arizona’s Election Day, while “the number of votes [Maricopa] county reported having counted mysteriously increased by nearly 25,000, a number greater than Katie Hobbs’ alleged 17,000-vote victory.” Despite the judge ruling against Lake, many still question the legitimacy of Hobbs’ election, and Lake is appealing the decision. The judge seemingly acknowledged the irregularities but claimed that they were not intentional misconduct.