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Democrat Adrian Fontes, who previously ran elections for Arizona’s largest county, has been narrowly elected to oversee voting in the entire state as secretary of state, according to a race call by The Associated Press.
Fontes defeated Republican Mark Finchem, a far-right candidate with ties to the extremist group the Oath Keepers, who was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Democrats, current and former election officials and democracy experts made it clear leading up to the election that Finchem winning this down-ballot race could lead the state down a dark path.
“Democracy as we know it may not survive in Arizona,” former President Barack Obama warned during a pre-election rally for the state’s Democratic slate.
The race call, which came late Friday, makes Finchem the latest election denier to be defeated this cycle in a secretary of state race in a competitive state, following losses by Republican candidates in Michigan, Minnesota and New Mexico.
