By Jim Small | Arizona Mirror
State Sen. Katie Hobbs is on the cusp of winning the race for secretary of state, which would put a Democrat first in the line of succession to governor, after ballot counts reported Thursday allowed her to more than double her lead over her Republican opponent.
Hobbs, a social worker, ended Election Day trailing Steve Gaynor by about 44,000 votes. However, as county elections officials have counted early ballots that were delivered on or the day before the election, Hobbs’ fortunes have changed and she is now poised to be the first Democrat elected to the post since Richard Mahoney in 1991.
She now leads Gaynor by more than 13,000 votes with only about 92,000 left to count.
