At a rally on Tuesday morning, Democrat Katie Hobbs announced her victory in the contest for governor of Arizona.
She acknowledged the difficult campaign and congratulated Arizonans for rejecting instability.
At Luna Culture Lab in central Phoenix, Hobbs told supporters, "Last night our race was officially called (by media organizations), and I am proud to stand before you as governor-elect.
A difficult year and a half have passed. However, Arizonans opted to solve our problems over conspiracy theories in this election.
Since Janet Napolitano left Arizona to serve as secretary of Homeland Security in the Obama administration in 2009, Hobbs is expected to become the state's first democratically elected governor.
Hobbs will approve the certification of the election, but Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert M. Brutinel will also be involved in the certification process
according to assistant Arizona secretary of state Allie Bones in an interview with CNN.
The atmosphere at the rally in the limited space was one of relief and elation.
Raquel Terán, chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, expressed her party's excitement.
We are merely pleased with the results because we knew we would have to wait until every vote was tabulated.