Kari Lake – live: Far-right Republican calls Arizona result ‘BS’ as Katie Hobbs wins governor’s race

Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs has won the Arizona governor’s race, defeating Trump-backed Kari Lake, in one of the most-watched contests in the country.

Ms Lake who amplified Mr Trump’s false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen has refused to say if she would accept defeat this time. But she said reacting to the results: “Arizonans know BS when they see it.”

Declaring victory, Ms Hobbs said: “Democracy is worth the wait. Thank you, Arizona. I am so honoured and so proud to be your next governor.”

While election officials continue to verify and count remaining ballots, Ms Lake has continued to amplify false claims about the electoral process and baselessly cast doubt its legitimacy.

“We can’t be the laughingstock of elections anymore here in Arizona. And, when I’m governor, I will not allow it. I just won’t,” she told Fox News on Sunday.

Meanwhile, an Arizona police lab confirmed that it found nothing in an envelope that Ms Lake’s campaign claimed was sent to their headquarters in early November containing a “suspicious white powder”.

Arizona governor’s race

• Katie Hobbs defeats far-right Republican Kari Lake in Arizona governor’s race

• Why some races in Arizona still haven’t been called

• Voices: Here’s why the polls were wrong about the midterms

• Lake supporters call for military intervention amid fears she may be losing

• VOICES: In Arizona right now, nobody knows what to think

• Kari Lake goes on media blitz to insist she’s already won

Katie Hobbs pledges to protect abortion rights in state with century-old ban

19:00 , Alex Woodward

In a speech to supporters on Tuesday, governor-elect Katie Hobbs said she will move to repeal a more than century-old ban on abortion in the state that was allowed to take effect after the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade.

The anti-abortion law was updated in 1901. But Arizona didn’t become a state until 1912. The sweeping abortion prohibition from the state’s territorial history decades earlier has remain on the books, but unenforced, for more than a century, despite the landmark 1973 Supreme Court ruling found the law and others like it unconstitutional.

In September, two months after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, a judge allowed the ban to take effect.

Katie Hobbs has a message for election deniers

18:30 , Alex Woodward

Arizona’s governor-elect Katie Hobbs said Republicans and Democratic lawmakers will have an “open door” to her office to work on bipartisan solutions.

But after defeating prominent election denier Kari Lake, who has amplified Trump’s bogus narrative of election fraud and manipulation, she had a message:

“For those of you who prefer to obstruct, spread misinformation and continue to pursue an extreme agenda out of touch with this state, take note of the results of this election,” she told supporters on Tuesday.

“Voters sent us a loud and clear message. They rejected the chaos, because we have urgent problems. The need and expect us to deliver,” she said.

Katie Hobbs: 'Arizonans chose solving our problems over conspiracy theories’

18:03 , Alex Woodward

Addressing a victory rally the morning after her projected victory, Arizona’s governor-elect Katie Hobbs said Arizona voters “chose solving our problems over conspiracy theories,” after she defeated prominent election denier and Trump loyalist Kari Lake.

“We chose sanity over chaos, and we chose unity over division,” she said. “We chose a better Arizona, and we chose democracy.”

Ms Lake’s loss is the latest in a sweep of defeats to a conspiracy theory-fuelled, antidemocratic movement to upend the electoral process to ensure GOP victories across the US.

“The attacks on democracy won’t end today with this victory. It is on all of us to continue to defend it,” Ms Hobbs said. “Most of all we must reject the false choice between democracy and standing up for an economy that works for everyone.”

MSNBC reporter launches blistering takedown of Kari Lake’s ‘Trumpism’ after Arizona governor election loss

17:37 , Alex Woodward

Vaughn Hillyard, a correspondent for the MSNBC who originally hails from Arizona, unloaded on the Trump-endorsed candidate less than a day after the race was called for Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs.

“She predicated the campaign trying to sell the ‘big lie’ and the conspiracy theories,” he said, noting that when the GOP analysts start swooping in to conduct a post-mortem on what went wrong with Ms Lake’s bid for the governor’s office, they’ll soon put the pieces together.

“This is the third election cycle in which Arizonans rejected Trumpism,” he said.

MSNBC reporter launches blistering takedown of Kari Lake after election loss

Sean Hannity’s sulking announcement of Arizona governor results goes viral: ‘Weak hypocritical sore loser’

17:00 , Alex Woodward

Fox News host Sean Hannity was labelled a “hypocritical sore loser” for taking a cheap shot at Katie Hobbs while announcing the Arizona governor’s race call in the middle of his Monday night programme.

Sean Hannity’s sulking announcement of Arizona governor result goes viral

How far-right media and election deniers are coping with Kari Lake’s loss

16:31 , Alex Woodward

Mark Finchem, who lost the race for Arizona’s secretary of state, went on a posting spree after projections showed Kari Lake losing to Katie Hobbs.

He repeatedly accused people of being a “Democrat hack” and refused to believe the legitimacy of the votes coming out of Maricopa County, adding that the results “defy all math”.

Election denialism was a failure for Republicans in 2022, with voters overwhelmingly rejecting the insurgent class of far-right figures who amplified bogus conspiracy theories and pledged to upend the electoral process to get Republicans elected.

Far-right media figures also were, predictably, outraged with the results. Charle Kirk suggested recalling Katie Hobbs. Tomi Lahren said she is “utterly disgusted about whatever the hell happened” in Arizona. Fox News figures were dumbfounded and suggested in their coverage that the outcome wsa illegitimate.

On Monday, Steve Bannon raged on his War Room podcast, claiming glitches accounted for by election officials represented “an active disenfranchisement of voters in Arizona on the world stage” and said “we have to stop the certification.”

Kari Lake baselessly asserts election was ‘botched’ in Fox News interview

16:00 , Alex Woodward

Before networks began calling the race for Katie Hobbs, Kari Lake baselessly asserted that her opponent – who is currently the secretary of state, the chief elections official in the state – had “botched” the election.

Hours earlier, election officials in Maricopa County once again batted down false claims and misinformation shared by candidates and their supporters about the elections process.

County Sheriff Paul Penzone defended election workers from what he called “disappointing” comments about the vote-counting process and stressed that election workers and volunteers will be protected from harassment.

“I have seen people at the polls who are excited about the opportunity to actually participate in this process, working long hours ... working late because they want to make sure this election is free and fair,” he said on Monday evening.

Sean Hannity was not thrilled about announcing Fox News calling the race for Katie Hobbs

15:30 , Alex Woodward

Fox News personality Sean Hannity was in the middle of his programme’s broadcast on Monday night when the Associated Press and networks – including Fox – projected that Kari Lake would lose the Arizona governor’s race to Democratic candidate Katie Hobbs, who is currently the secretary of state.

Mr Hannity said that because she is secretary of state that she should not even have run for office. Right-wing media did not make the same kind of statements after Republican Brian Kemp was elected governor in Georgia in 2018 while secretary of state.

“Fox is projecting that Democratic Secretary of State – who should have recused herself — Katie Hobbs has been elected governor of Arizona,” he said.

Trump mocks DeSantis over resurfaced video of Maga flag on baby daughter’s crib: ‘Thanks, Ron!’

15:00 , Johanna Chisholm

Donald Trump has mocked rival Ron DeSantis over a resurfaced campaign video featuring excessive praise of the one-time president.

On Sunday, the Democrat-aligned Twitter account Patriot Takes shared an old DeSantis campaign ad from 2018 in which the then-candidate for Florida governor and his family swear fealty to Mr Trump in an over-exaggerated fashion.

Mr Trump himself responded to the clip going viral this week - as the pair ramp up their bitter battle over the GOP - by writing on Truth Social: “Thanks, Ron!”

In the video, Mr DeSantis’s wife is heard explaining all the ways that the governor is a good father, while her husband is seen teaching his infant daughter to “build the wall” with blocks and reading from Mr Trump’s book, “The Art of the Deal”.

John Bowden has more here.

Trump mocks DeSantis over resurfaced video of Maga flag on baby daughter’s crib

Meghan McCain trolls Kari Lake after her loss in Arizona’s gubernatorial race

14:30 , Johanna Chisholm

Meghan McCain, the daughter of former US Senator John McCain, trolled the Trump-endorsed candidate for the governor’s race in Arizona, Kari Lake, after it was declared that she’d lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

The tweet, shared late Monday, was simple and effective in delivering Ms McCain’s message. On one side, there was a picture of her father, who served as Arizona Senator from 1987 until his death in 2018, smiling with a thumbs up. On the other side was a picture of the defeated Ms Lake, with the word, “Loser”, photoshopped over top.

Liz Cheney sends perfect revenge tweet as Kari Lake loses Arizona governor’s race: ‘You’re welcome’

14:00 , Johanna Chisholm

Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake has been mocked by her Republican colleague Liz Cheney after multiple news outlets called the race for the Democrats.

Ms Lake, a pro-Trump firebrand who has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 US presidential election, had written to Ms Cheney last month sarcastically thanking her for running a TV advert against her, which Ms Lake claimed had actually galvanised support.

“Thank you again for the huge boost to our campaign! Enjoy your forced retirement from politics,” Ms Lake had said.

Seventeen days later, as NBC News, CNN and The Associated Press declared victory for Ms Lake’s Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs, Ms Cheney responded on Twitter: “You’re welcome, @KariLake.”

Io Dodds has more here.

Liz Cheney sends perfect revenge tweet as Kari Lake loses Arizona: ‘You’re welcome’

Poll: Many Republicans still back Trump for 2024, but that support is waning

13:00 , Johanna Chisholm

A new Politico-Morning Consult poll has shown that former President Donald Trump’s popularity with Republican-leaning voters might be waning in the post-midterm climate.

Among all voters surveyed in the poll, 65 per cent said the ex-president should probably or definitely not run again (of those, 53 per cent were in the definite camp).

Those numbers haven’t shifted significantly since pre-election, when the same polling group found that the twice impeached president stood at 48 per cent. But it does show that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s star is rising, with the governor shooting up from 26 per cent to 33 per cent.

Kari Lake joins list of election deniers who received Trump’s endorsement but failed in their bid for elected office

12:40 , Johanna Chisholm

Kari Lake, a former news anchor who was swiftly embraced by Donald Trump and MAGA enthusiasts after she began aggressively peddling election fraud conspiracy theories from the 2020 presidential election, has joined a growing list of election deniers who were similarly graced with the former president’s blessing only to be rejected at the polls

NBC News reporter Sahil Kapur aggregated the candidates who embraced Trump’s “Big Lie” heading into the November midterms and found that there were at least 10 substantial Republicans on the ballot who were rejected by the electorate in their respective state and federal races.

As Kapur points out, this is not an exhaustive list but rather a collection of the more substantial losses suffered by the MAGA Republicans who accepted the ex-president’s narrative of events during the 2020 election.

Critics of Kari Lake react to her ‘self-owning’ tweet after she claims election was stolen

12:20 , Johanna Chisholm

Shortly after NBC News called the race in the Arizona gubernatorial race, declaring Democrat Katie Hobbs the victor over Trump-backed Kari Lake, the Republican candidate took to her preferred social media platform to begin spreading her preferred kind of conspiracies: election fraud.

“Arizonans know BS when they see it,” tweeted the former news anchor, hinting that her narrow loss to Ms Hobbs - where she secured 49.6 per cent to her opponent’s 50.4 per cent - was the byproduct of some kind of “BS” election fraud.

Unfortunately for Ms Lake, the Twittersphere took the tweet to mean an entirely different thing, with many critics using it as the punchline to several jokes about how Arizonans had roundly rejected her brand of election-denying politics.

“As it turns out, yes, yes they did,” quote tweeted former Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill.

“perfect concession: self-aware & concise,” tweeted New Yorker reporter and author Philip Gourevitch.

A stunningly accurate prediction on House and Senate control from August has gone viral after results

12:05 , Johanna Chisholm

A prediction about the US midterms made on Twitter at the end of August has gone viral for apparently accurately guessing the outcome of the election.

User “umichvoter”, who appears to be 22-years-old with an interest in politics and elections currently studying for a medical degree, made the prediction on 31 August.

He wrote: “Based on special elections and generic ballot and president approval trends, I’d say we are probably at about a 50-49 Dem senate with GA headed to runoff and 219-216 GOP house.”

“Things could change tho,” he added.

Oliver O’Connell has more details here.

Prediction on House and Senate control from August goes viral as results bear out

MAGA activist claims he can ‘will into existence’ a Kari Lake win

11:40 , Rachel Sharp

MAGA activist and “Stop the Steal” rally organiser Ali Alexander has claimed that he can “will into existence” a Kari Lake win.

Ms Lake was defeated by Democrat Katie Hobbs in the race for Arizona governor.

Before the race was called on Monday night, Mr Alexander claimed that he could “will” Ms Lake to victory.

“Even if Kari was going to lose, I would will it into existence. And I know that sounds kooky and I know that sounds crazy. But. Don’t catch me on a wild day,” he said on his podcast.

“Pete Davidson one time got on my bad side. Almost killed himself.

“So. You’re not going to believe me. It doesn’t matter. The point is, is that no one needs to believe you the first time. The point is, you just need to tell them the first time. You understand this? This is going to sound kooky for ya’ll in cosey, but you guys don’t understand the esoteric.

“What if I told you that all of us are capable of traveling? Well, not all of us, because you’re not smart enough. But what if I told you that there are a lot of people capable of time traveling? They just don’t know it.”

Despite his bizarre claims, Ms Lake was defeated just hours later.

Katie Hobbs says ‘democracy is worth the wait’ as she wins race

11:20 , Rachel Sharp

Katie Hobbs celebrated her victory on Monday night, by saying that “democracy is worth the wait”.

The Democrat was called the winner of the gubernatorial race on Monday night, beating extreme right-wing candidate Kari Lake.

“Democracy is worth the wait. Thank you, Arizona. I am so honored and so proud to be your next Governor,” she tweeted.

Kari Lake’s defeat marks another blow for Trump

11:00 , Rachel Sharp

Kari Lake’s defeat marks another blow for Donald Trump, as she becomes the latest candidate endorsed by him and latest extreme right-wing candidate to lose in the midterms.

The former president has shouldered much of the blame for Republicans’ disappointing performance in the midterms – with many members of the party distancing themselves from him and throwing their support behind Ron DeSantis as a 2024 hopeful.

Despite this, Mr Trump is still planning to make a “special announcement” on Tuesday night – believed to be his official announcement of a 2024 run.

Katie Hobbs’ win flips state blue

10:40 , Rachel Sharp

Katie Hobbs’ win in Arizona has flipped the governor seat blue for the first time in 13 years.

After defeating MAGA Republican and election denier Kari Lake in the gubernatorial race, the secretary of state will now succeed Republican Governor Doug Ducey, who could not run again due to term limits.

Ms Hobbs will now become the first Democrat elected governor in Arizona since Janet Napolitano won in 2006, serving up to 2009.

The victory also puts Democrats closer to taking all three top statewide races in Arizona for the first time since 1972.

The race for attorney general is still too close to call, with Democrat Kris Mayes leading with 50.1 per cent of votes to Republican Abe Hamadeh’s 49.9 per cent.

Why race was called for Katie Hobbs

10:20 , Rachel Sharp

The Associated Press called the Arizona governor’s race for Democrat Katie Hobbs on Monday after the latest round of vote releases gave her a lead that AP determined she would not relinquish.

The AP concluded that, even though Republican Kari Lake had been posting increasingly larger margins in vote updates from Maricopa County, she was not gaining a big enough share to overtake Hobbs, and was running out of remaining votes.

Vote counting had gone on for days since the Tuesday election, as officials continued to tally massive amounts of late-arriving ballots.

As of Monday night, there were 43,000 remaining votes to count in Arizona, according to state officials, including more than 17,000 early ballots.

Kari Lake refuses to concede

10:00 , Rachel Sharp

Kari Lake, the extreme right-wing Republican, has so far refused to concede to Democrat Katie Hobbs.

Ms Hobbs sailed to victory on Monday night in the race to become Arizona’s next governor.

But, more than six hours after the race was called, Ms Hobbs is yet to concede.

Instead, she has described the election results as “BS”.

Throughout the campaign trail, questions arose as to whether Ms Lake would acknowledge a defeat after she has peddled Donald Trump’s “big lie” that the 2020 election was stolen and has sought to sow doubt in the legitimacy of the Arizona race.

Paul Ryan: Trump was ‘drag’ on GOP midterm ticket

10:00 , Alex Woodward

Former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called for his party to nominate anyone other than Trump when it comes time to 2024 presidential election candidates.

Andrew Feinberg reports on the former speaker’s remarks.

Ex-House speaker Paul Ryan blames ‘Trump hangover’ for GOP’s red wave failure

Liz Cheney sends perfect revenge tweet as Kari Lake loses race

09:39 , Rachel Sharp

Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake has been mocked by her Republican colleague Liz Cheney after multiple news outlets called the race for the Democrats.

Ms Lake, a pro-Trump firebrand who has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 US presidential election, had written to Ms Cheney last month sarcastically thanking her for running a TV advert against her, which Ms Lake claimed had actually galvanised support.

“Thank you again for the huge boost to our campaign! Enjoy your forced retirement from politics,” Ms Lake had said.

Seventeen days later, as NBC News, CNN and The Associated Press declared victory for Ms Lake’s Democratic opponent Katie Hobbs, Ms Cheney responded on Twitter: “You’re welcome, @KariLake.”

The Independent’s Io Dodds has the full story:

GOP losses dent Trump’s influence in Congress

09:00 , Alex Woodward

About half of Donald Trump’s chosen candidates for Congress suffered losses, denting the former president’s influence as he is widely expected to formally launch another presidential bid.

A final analysis of the night put the number at roughly 80 of Mr Trump’s 174 congressional endorsements making it to Capitol Hill, a number that includes incumbents.

The Independent’s John Bowden assesses how the former president’s candidates fared.

Trump’s influence takes a hit as half of his congressional picks go down

Election deniers are losing in critical state-level races

08:00 , Alex Woodward

Donald Trump’s endless grievances and a bogus narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him have fuelled dozens of Republican campaigns across the US, from local-level races to elections for governor and US Senate seats.

But so-called election deniers have won fewer than one in six races for statewide positions that oversee election administration, including governor, secretary of state and attorney general – roles that will be critical in 2024 elections.

Election deniers are losing critical state-level races

Pollsters underestimated the importance of abortion rights to women

07:00 , Alex Woodward

Pissing off a demographic that makes up more than half of the electorate. Who could possibly have thought that was a good idea?

After a little more than four months of gruelling post-Roe midterm elections and endless speculation from Washington DC pundits, we have finally arrived at the conclusion that Democratic activists were quietly coming to months ago: Yes, abortion matters. Taking away a right that people have relied on for decades matters.

The Independent’s John Bowden assesses what the midterms told us about how abortion rights stacked up against other issues.

Pollsters underestimated female voters in the midterms

Women, Gen Z and LGBTQ candidates score series of firsts in midterms

06:00 , Alex Woodward

The first Gen Z member of Congress. The first lesbian governor. And the most diverse incoming legislative body in Washington DC.

The Independent’s Johanna Chisholm on the historic firsts of midterm elections:

Women, Gen Z and LGBTQ candidates celebrate series of firsts in midterm victories

Which endorsements helped and which hindered in the midterms?

05:00 , Alex Woodward

Rather than being a golden ticket, it seems that Trump’s endorsement is more of a coin flip. According to polling data from midterm contests that have been called, the former president’s preferred candidates were only successful in about half the House and governor races.

His longtime critic, outgoing Congresswoman Liz Cheney, did better with her endorsements, though she made significantly fewer than the former president.

The Independent’s Graig Graziosi reports.

Trump endorsed candidates fare well in Senate but poor everywhere else

Republicans are just one seat away from retaking House control

04:28 , Shweta Sharma

Republicans were on the cusp of retaking control of the House late last night, just one victory shy of the 218 seats the party needs to secure a majority following a series of victories.

It has narrowed the path for Democrats to keep the chamber and raising the prospect of a divided government in Washington.

Democrats have already won control of the Senate, securing 50 seats with a runoff in Georgia next month that could give president Joe Biden’s party an additional seat.

Adding to GOP wins which were called late in the evening, Representative Ken Calvert and Michelle Steel were reelected in California. Brandon Williams also secured a seat to succeed a retiring centrist GOP lawmaker, representative John Katko, in New York state.

ICYMI: Arizona’s new secretary of state-elect condemns ‘negacionistas’ after his defeat of election denier Mark Finchem

04:00 , Alex Woodward

After defeating far-right conspiracy theorist Mark Finchem in the race for Arizona secretary of state, Democratic candidate Adrian Fontes said the results of the 2022 election show that “voters have spoken and they spoke to something much deeper than the passing fad of the big lie” and election denialism.”

In a call with reporters and other incoming secretaries of state who have spoken out against the coordinated campaign among Trump loyalists to run for offices that control state election systems, Mr Fontes said that “moving forward … we need to make sure we promote and protect people on the ground out there” who have suffered harassment, intimidation and threats following those dis- and misinformation efforts.

He condemend what he called negacionistas, the “the doubters, the deniers” sowing doubt about the legitimacy of elections.

Mr Fontes suggested that there be “stronger protections at state and federal levels for election administrators across the board” and “perhaps closer coordination with law enforcement” heading into critical 2024 presidential elections.

“Hopefully we’re done with this one chapter of the American political history,” he said. “We’re almost there, we’re going to protect the process in Arizona.”

Kari Lake reacts after defeat in Arizona governor’s race

03:42 , Shweta Sharma

Kari Lake, the Trump-endorsed Republican who has been defeated in the Arizona governor’s race, has said: “Arizonans know BS when they see it.”

Katie Hobbs thanks voters, says democracy is worth the wait

03:38 , Shweta Sharma

Democrat Katie Hobbs has thanked Arizona voters after she defeated Kari Lake, an ally of Donald Trump who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged and refused to say she would accept the results of her race this year.

“Democracy is worth the wait. Thank you, Arizona,” she said in a tweet.

“I am so honoured and so proud to be your next Governor.”

Liz Cheney to Kari Lake: ‘You’re welcome’

03:20 , Io Dodds

Dissident Republican Liz Cheney has tweeted her revenge after being mocked by Kari Lake for her intervention in the Arizona governor’s race.

Ms Lake, a pro-Trump firebrand who has repeatedly spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 US presidential election, had written to Ms Cheney last month sarcastically thanking her for running a TV advert against her, which Ms Lake claimed had actually galvanised support.

“Thank you again for the huge boost to our campaign! Enjoy your forced retirement from politics,” Ms Lake had said.

Seventeen days later, as NBC News, CNN and The Associated Press all declared victory for Katie Hobbs, Ms Cheney responded on Twitter: “You’re welcome, @KariLake.”

Read our full story here.

Analysis: How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats

03:00 , Alex Woodward

Activists and organisers explain tell The Independent’s John Bowden how polls and pundits underestimated the issue of abortion in the midterms.

“You know, most people when they’re thinking about having an abortion are thinking about, like, when and how to have families. The decisions that they have in front of them are very significantly economic,” explained Rachel O’Leary Carmona, executive director of the Women’s March.

“[W]hen women are talking about the issue of abortion, we are talking about the economy,” she said. “I think the Democrats need to speak better to the lived experience of the people who, you know, they want to earn their votes.”

How ‘women just went crazy’ and saved the Democrats in the midterms

Katie Hobbs continues to lead with more than 20,000 votes as more ballots processed

02:53 , Alex Woodward

Democratic candidate for Arizona governor Katie Hobbs continues to lead with more than 20,000 votes as more ballots processed. The Associated Press and major news networks have called Ms Hobbs the winner in that election.

Ms Hobbs leads with 1,265,331 to Ms Lake’s 1,244,850 votes, according to the secretary of state’s office.

‘Democracy is worth the wait’: Katie Hobbs thanks Arizona voters following election victory

02:31 , Alex Woodward

Democratic governor-elect Katie Hobbs has thanks Arizona voters following Associated Press and network race calls that she has defeated her GOP challenger Kari Lake.

“Democracy is worth the wait,” she wrote on Twitter. “Thank you, Arizona. I am so honored and so proud to be your next Governor.”

Breaking news: Katie Hobbs defeats far-right Republican Kari Lake in Arizona governor’s race

02:25 , Alex Woodward

Arizona voters have elected Democratic candidiate Katie Hobbs as the state’s next governor, defeating Kari Lake and dealing a blow to Donald Trump’s campaign to install loyalists in positions of power over election administration across the country.

The race was one of the most-watched contests in the country, as candidates who amplified Mr Trump’s false narrative that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him – ahead of his assumed entry into the 2024 race – sought, and lost, critical state-level positions that could determine the outcome of those results.

Katie Hobbs defeats far-right Republican Kari Lake in Arizona governor’s race

CNN and ABC News project Katie Hobbs wins Arizona governor’s race

02:20 , David Taintor

Two more networks have called the Arizona governor’s race for Democrat Katie Hobbs. At around 9.20pm ET on Monday, ABC News and CNN projected that Ms Hobbs would defeat far-right Republican Kari Lake.

Katie Hobbs increases lead in governor’s race with updates from Maricopa and Pima counties

02:03 , Alex Woodward

Democratic candidate for Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs has increased her lead by several thousand votes as election officials from Maricopa and Pima counties update their counts with mail-in ballots that arrived on Election Day and were processed on Monday.

Ms Hobbs leads with 1,234,506 votes to Kari Lake’s 1,204,275 votes, according to updates from the secretary of state’s office.

Ms Hobbs’ lead has increased from roughly 26,000 votes on Monday morning to more than 30,200.

Analysis: The knives are out, but can the Republican Party really ditch Trump?

02:00 , Alex Woodward

A terrible midterm performance has given rise to the most serious attacks on Trump in years, but can the GOP really unseat their nominal party leader? The Independent’s Richard Hall reports.

The knives are out, but can the Republican Party really ditch Trump?

NBC News: Democrat Katie Hobbs wins Arizona governor’s race against Kari Lake

01:56 , David Taintor

Around 9pm ET on Monday, NBC News projected that Democrat Katie Hobbs would defeate Trump-backed Republican Kari Lake in the Arizona governor’s race. So far, NBC is the only news network to project Ms Hobbs’ win.

Control of House still up for grabs. But Democrats face a tougher path

01:00 , Alex Woodward

Both parties still have a chance to control the House next year. Republicans appear to have the easier path to victory, but keeping their majority in line may be harder than winning it, The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg explains.

Control of House still up for grabs but Democrats face a tougher path

Vote count update from Pima County as more Maricopa results expected

00:21 , Alex Woodward

Pima County’s Elections Director Constance Hargrove said her agency has counted more than 24,300 ballots today.

Results from that county and Maricopa, the largest county in the state, could be critical for determining remaining races, including the state’s next governor.

‘Big’ batch of Election Day ballots will be tallied up tonight

Monday 14 November 2022 23:41 , Alex Woodward

A batch of absentee ballots dropped off on Election Day in Maricopa County have been processed and the votes will be tallied up tonight at roughly 6pm MT.

“This will be a big drop of votes,” according to Bill Gates, chair of Maricopa County’s Board of Supervisors, speaking at a press conference on Monday.

He said the press conference will likely be the last following last week’s election.

Maricopa County sheriff defends election workers from ‘disappointing’ wave of online complaints

Monday 14 November 2022 23:14 , Alex Woodward

At a press conference in Maricopa County, Sheriff Paul Penzone defended election workers from what he called “disappointing” comments about the vote-counting process.

“I have seen people at the polls who are excited about the opportunity to actually participate in this process, working long hours ... working late because they want to make sure this election is free and fair,” he said on Monday evening.

Another batch of mail-in ballots are imminent, which could determine the race between Kari Lake and Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor.

Election officials have been swatting at waves of conspiracy theories and false claims, including from Donald Trump and his endorsed candidate Ms Lake and her supporters.

Maricopa County officials have tried to combat criticism, misinformation and allegations of malfeasance as they work through hundreds of thousands of mailed ballots that were returned on Election Day.

The county is the second largest voting jurisdiction in the country and represents more than 60 percent of Arizona’s registered voters, many of whom vote by mail. In 2020, 89 per cent of voters in the state voted early, largely by mail.

Why the Associated Press hasn’t called the race for governor – yet

Monday 14 November 2022 22:42 , Alex Woodward

The Independent shares race calls from Associated Press, which has a comprehensive explainer for its election reporting.

The agency has not yet called the race governor in Arizona, where officials in the state’s 15 counties are releasing tallies of votes as they have been processed, at various intervals.

The AP explains:

Almost all of Arizona’s vote happens by mail, although some voters cast their ballots in-person at voting centers. Most Arizona counties don’t count ballots in-house, with officials instead bringing them to a central facility.

Early votes in Arizona can be counted as they come in, meaning that officials don’t have to wait until polls close on Election Day to start.

Arizona officials release their vote totals in batches. Much of the focus has been on Maricopa, the state’s largest county, with a total of 4.5 million residents — more than half of Arizona’s total population — and about 2.4 million registered voters.

Why AP hasn't called the Arizona governor's race

Maricopa County press conference expected at 6pm ET

Monday 14 November 2022 22:40 , David Taintor

Election officials in Maricopa County, Arizona, are expected to hold a press conference at 6pm ET, focused on the ongoing vote-counting and security measures in the state’s most populous county.

All mail-in ballots in Maricopa County from Election Day have been counted

Monday 14 November 2022 21:40 , Alex Woodward

All mail-in ballots that arrived in Maricopa County, the state’s largest county, have been counted, leaving only outstanding ballots – like provisional ballots or those that need to be corrected.

Vote tallies are expected tonight, which – depending on the number of outstanding ballots that remain – could determine the outcome of the race.

Kari Lake urges supporters to check ballot status as ‘curing’ underway in Arizona race

Monday 14 November 2022 21:37 , Alex Woodward

High-profile races in Arizona and Colorado remain too close to call as of Monday afternoon, nearly one week after Election Day, and candidates an political organizations are calling on their supporters to check whether their mail-in ballots have been accepted.

If there are any flaws, there’s an upcoming deadlines to correct any outstanding issues - a process known as “curing” that could help determine the outcome of a congressional race in Colorado and the race for Arizona governor.

The deadline for “curing” ballots in Arizona is 16 November at 5pm local time.

Arizona’s new secretary of state-elect condemns ‘negacionistas’ after his defeat of election denier Mark Finchem

Monday 14 November 2022 19:59 , Alex Woodward

After defeating far-right conspiracy theorist Mark Finchem in the race for Arizona secretary of state, Democratic candidate Adrian Fontes said the results of 2022 midterm show that “voters have spoken and they spoke to something much deeper than the passing fad of the big lie” and election denialism.”

In a call with reporters and other incoming secretaries of state who have spoken out against the coordinated campaign among Trump loyalists to run for offices that control state election systems, Mr Fontes said that “moving forward … we need to make sure we promote and protect people on the ground out there” who have suffered harassment, intimidation and threats following those dis- and misinformation efforts.

He condemend what he called negacionistas, the “the doubters, the deniers” sowing doubt about the legitimacy of elections.

Mr Fontes suggested that there be “stronger protections at state and federal levels for election administrators across the board” and “perhaps closer coordination with law enforcement” heading into critical 2024 presidential elections.

“Hopefully we’re done with this one chapter of the American political history,” he said. “We’re almost there, we’re going to protect the process in Arizona.”

Trump baselessly claims Kari Lake’s ‘easy’ election is ‘being drained away from her'

Monday 14 November 2022 18:47 , Alex Woodward

On his Truth Social account, Donald Trump continues to cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and the election process in Arizona, claiming without evidence that a “win” from his endorsed candidate Kari Lake is “systematically being drained away from her.”

“This is a very sad thing to watch,” he said.

Mr Trump’s own attempts to undermine mail-in ballots, which he himself has used, and electoral administration in states that he lost in 2020 began well before any ballots were cast.

His own campaign, administration and officials from his White House as well as bipartisan election officials and judges across the US have found no evidence of either widespread fraud or election failures.

But he has claimed that the delays in vote counts – because of both time and the legal constraints to process, verify and count mail-in ballots –are evidence of manipulation, which is false.

Arizona elections update expected this evening

Monday 14 November 2022 18:00 , Alex Woodward

The Maricopa County Elections Department announced an additional 98,618 ballots last night, and more are expected to be processed and counted tonight.

Based on updated county-level results from Sunday evening, Democratic candidate for governor Katie Hobbs leads with 752,740 votes to Kari Lake’s 704,178.

Overall, Ms Hobbs leads with 1.2 million votes to Ms Lake’s 1.18 million.

White House adviser says painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats to midterms success

Monday 14 November 2022 17:30 , Alex Woodward

White House adviser Anita Dunn said that President Joe Biden’s decision to characterise MAGA Republicans as extreme helped Democrats perform better than expected in the midterm elections.

“Former President Trump kind of adopted (it) himself,” she told NBC’s Meet the Press.

“But it was a very effective strategy for kind of raising, for the American people, the hazards of going down that path with democracy denial, with the threats of political violence to achieve political ends with an extremist program that involves denying women the right to an abortion, no economic policies that continue to be trickled down as opposed to bottom up and middle out the way President Biden is fighting for,” she said.

White House adviser: painting MAGA Republicans as ‘extremists’ helped Democrats

Supreme Court rejects Arizona GOP chair’s attempt to block phone records from Jan 6 committee

Monday 14 November 2022 17:00 , Alex Woodward

The US Supreme Court has given the House select committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol the greenlight to access phone records from an Arizona Republican Party official who joined a scheme to falsely declare Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

In a 7-2 decision on 14 November, the court rejected Arizona GOP chair Kelli Ward’s attempt to block the committee from obtaining her records.

Jan 6 committee can access Arizona GOP chair’s phone records, Supreme Court rules

Blake Masters blames Mitch McConnell for his loss in Arizona

Monday 14 November 2022 16:30 , Alex Woodward

In an interview with far-right Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, Arizona’s defeated Republican candidate for US Senate Blake Master appeared to lay the blame for his loss on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Defeated Trump-backed Blake Masters blames Mitch McConnell for his Arizona loss

Asked why Mr McConnell “avoided” the race, Mr Master said: “I will leave it to the viewer to decide whether it is just malice or whether it is gross incompetence.”

“But clearly Mitch McConnell cares about Mitch McConnell and less about his Senate majority or the people of America. I think we need a change, that’s why I ran for office and one way or another change is coming.”

Analysis: Precincts with voting issues were not in largely Republican voting areas, despite bogus claims from Lake and allies

Monday 14 November 2022 16:03 , Alex Woodward

Despite claims from Kari Lake and Donald Trump, among others, voting precincts in Maricopa County that faced some issues on Election Day do not lean Republican, according to analysis from The Washington Post.

The finds rebuke bogus claims from the far-right candidate and her allies, who baselessly argued that GOP voters were more likely to be affected by a printing issue.

Maricopa County is home to roughly half of the state’s voters.

Printers at 70 of the county’s 223 polling sites produced ballots with ink that was too light to be read by vote-counting machines, which forced voters to wait in longer lines or deposit their ballots in secure drop boxes in Phoenix. Officials said that no voter was denied the ability to vote.

The Post’s analysis found that the proportion of registered Republican voters in affected precincts, about 37 percent, is roughly the same as the share of GOP voters across the county, which is 35 per cent.

Katie Hobbs campaign says candidate is ‘unequivocal’ favourite in governor’s race

Monday 14 November 2022 15:31 , Alex Woodward

After more results from Maricopa County on Sunday narrowed Kari Lake’s path to victory, a statement from Katie Hobbs’s campaign said the Democratic candidate is the “favourite to become the next governor of Arizona.”

“Katie has led since the first round of ballots were counted,” the statement said. “It’s clear that this won’t change.”

Republicans who falsely claimed Trump won in 2020 are losing their races in critical state-level elections

Monday 14 November 2022 14:30 , Alex Woodward

While the race or Arizona’s next governor is still too close to call, Kari Lake’s far-right ally Mark Finchem has been defeated in the race for secretary of state.

Democratic candidiate Adrian Fontes has defeated Mr Finchem, a member of militia group the Oath Keepers who rallied in Washington DC before the Capitol attack.

As secretary of state, he would be Arizona’s senior-most election official. He’d be in charge of maintaining voter rolls, certifying the results and shaping how local elections are run, from auditing results to managing voting machines and materials.

At the former president’s first campaign-style rally of 2022 in Arizona, Mr Finchem said his campaign is part of a “nationwide populist movement to regain control over our government”.

“We know it and they know it – Donald Trump won,” he said.

So far, none of the new election denying candidates running for top offices in battleground states – govenror, secretary of state and attorney general – have won any of their races.

Election deniers are losing critical state-level races

‘My campaign isn’t dead yet’: Saturday Night Live mocks Kari Lake

Monday 14 November 2022 13:20 , Rachel Sharp

Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake was mocked on SNL on Saturday night, with Cecily Strong appearing as the MAGA Republican during the show’s cold open.

“My campaign isn’t dead yet, even though my camera filter makes it look like I’m in Heaven,” she said, posing as the Donald Trump ally.

Ms Strong went on to imitate Ms Lake’s attempts to sow doubt in the race.

“That is because the Maricopa County officials are incompetent and it’s my belief that the election is rigged and the results should be thrown out,” she said.

At that moment, the character was informed that she had taken the lead in the race prompting a sudden change of heart.

“Which is why I’ve always said this is a democracy, trust the system, trust the voters,” said Ms Strong as Ms Lake.

The sketch continued to flip between the two candidates taking the lead – each time prompting Ms Lake to flip her perspective on the validity of the election.