2022 Arizona Attorney General election

2022 Arizona Attorney General election

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Nominee Kris Mayes Abraham Hamadeh
Party Democratic Republican
Popular vote 1,254,809 1,254,529
Percentage 49.94% 49.93%

Mayes:      50–60%      60–70%
Hamadeh:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Attorney General before election

Mark Brnovich
Republican

Elected Attorney General

Kris Mayes
Democratic

The 2022 Arizona Attorney General election took place on November 8, 2022, to elect the next attorney general of Arizona concurrently with other federal and state elections. Incumbent Republican attorney general Mark Brnovich was term-limited and could not seek a third term in office.[1] With a margin of 0.01%, Democrat Kris Mayes defeated Republican Abe Hamadeh in one of the closest elections in Arizona history, and the closest attorney general race of the 2022 election cycle. The race is also believed to be the only election directly affected by the deaths of anti-vaccine advocates from COVID-19.[2]

On November 21, the final tally of votes initially left Mayes leading Hamadeh by just 510 votes out of more than 2.5 million cast. This triggered an automatic recount under Arizona law; the recount was completed on December 29 with the Democrat winning by an even slimmer 280 vote margin and just 0.01%, making it the closest statewide election in any state in 2022. The results were certified by the Secretary of State and the election process completed on December 29.[3][4] Hamadeh filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election, but state courts rejected it as election challenges could only be filed after certification.[5] Mayes became the first Democrat to win this office since Terry Goddard in 2006.

  1. ^ "ARIZONA". State AG Elections. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Jain, Lakshya; Gupta, Kavi (February 5, 2023). "Did Refusing The COVID-19 Vaccine Cost The GOP Any Elections?". Archived from the original on April 25, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Suspense mounts: Results of Arizona recounts delayed until next week". KTAR.com. December 22, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  4. ^ "'We feel confident': Upbeat Kris Mayes leads by 510 votes as AG race heads to recount". AZCentral. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  5. ^ Berzon, Alexandra (December 5, 2022). "Arizona Certifies Midterm Results After G.O.P. Resistance". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 6, 2022.