Democrat narrowly wins Arizona attorney general race after recount

Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Democrat Kris Mayes has defeated Republican Abraham Hamadeh in the Arizona attorney general's race, after a recount in one of the closest elections in the state's history.

Mayes finished 280 votes ahead of Hamadeh, down from a lead of 511 in the original count. The reason for the discrepancy was not immediately clear. Her win finishes off a successful election cycle for Democrats, who also retained a Senate seat and won the gubernatorial race.

The results were announced in a hearing before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Timothy Thomason.

Mayes said in a written statement after the court hearing: "I will say once again that I'm thankful to everyone who took their time to vote, and democracy is truly a team sport. I'm thankful for my campaign, transition and legal teams. I'm excited and ready to get to work as your next Attorney General and vow to be your Lawyer for the People. Onward ..."

Hamadeh said he is weighing all legal options and called for a hand recount.

"A discrepancy this big in the recount calls for an inspection of ALL the ballots," he said in a tweet.

Hamadeh had alleged problems with ballot printers in Maricopa County had led to a series of issues that disenfranchised voters and that his race was affected by improper handling of ballots that were duplicated or adjudicated by people because they could not be read by tabulators. In throwing out the lawsuit, Judge Thomason concluded Hamadeh didn't prove the errors in vote counting that he had alleged.

In addition to Mayes, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly was reelected and Democrat Adrian Fontes won the race for secretary of state. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, won the governor's race.