Katie Hobbs has secured the state’s race for governor according to the Associated Press.

Hobbs defeated Kari Lake, a right-wing Trump loyalist and seen as having a sealed “future” in the MAGA wing of the Republican Party.

Hobbs, repeatedly stood up to efforts by allies of the former President Trump to overturn the 2020 election as Secretary of State.

A close and bitter race defined the direction of Arizona voters—but once seen as a Republican and red stronghold—Arizona, turned blue.

Lake was depicted as a performer in front of the camera, a comfortable place for her after a career as a nightly news anchor.

Right out of her campaign gate, Lake marked her platform with constant claims of election fraud and remained steady on those unevidenced assertions to the very end. In her own race, Lake even reportedly refused to say whether or not she would concede—if she lost.

Lake has continually set up a contentious relationship with the media and often mocked reporters, telling them she would need to teach them how to be journalists.  At one press briefing, Lake reportedly told the gathered press she would be their “worst fricking nightmare” for eight years when she’s elected.

But to many Arizonans, it was Lake’s criticism and shameful disparaging of the late Senator John McCain and calling him a loser…that was the bridge too far.

For her part, Hobbs was often seen as a candidate that didn’t offer much in the way of glitz or of standing up to Lake after Hobbs refused to debate Lake, citing her reason was that Lake was an election denier.

But those close to Hobbs see her as a strong and steady force committed to keeping ethical leadership, as evidenced by her refusal to give in to “insurrectionists” during the 2020 presidential election fraud claims

Hobbs’s steady hand, calm nature and sticking to the issues at play—namely abortion rights and protecting election integrity, is now seen as the reason she beat Lake.

Hobbs will be the first Democratic governor elected in the state since Janet Napolitano resigned in early 2009 after her confirmation as homeland security secretary during the Obama administration.