Governor-elect Katie Hobbs visits Arizona Horizon

Arizona Secretary of State and Governor-elect Katie Hobbs joined us on Arizona Horizon Wednesday to talk about the recent election what what’s ahead when she takes office.

Host Ted Simons’ first question for Hobbs was why she thinks she won the election against her opponent, Republican Kari Lake. “We made this race about sanity versus chaos,” Hobbs said. “We focused on what Arizona voters were saying they wanted solutions to. We spent our campaign dollars wisely on television advertisements, and we made sure were were getting out every last vote,”

Hobbs was elected Arizona governor last month, defeating Lake, an ally of Donald Trump who falsely claimed the 2020 election was rigged. The Governor-elect has been a staunch defender of the legitimacy of the last election.

Simons addressed a number of topics with Hobbs during Wednesday’s interview, including abortion and reproductive rights. “One of the first actions you said would be to call a special session to get rid of the pre-statehood abortion ban. Is that one of the first things you’re going to do?” Simons asked.

“It was a campaign promise I made,” Hobbs replied. “That’s a line in the sand that I think is important for Arizonans to get rid of the chaos that would come if that law goes into effect. and make sure there’s some certainty where reproductive rights are concerned.”

On Dec. 5,  Hobbs officially certified the Nov. 8 election results in a ceremony at the Capitol.

Hobbs, a Democrat, will succeed Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. She will be the first Democrat to be elected as governor in Arizona since Janet Napolitano in 2006.