Katie Hobbs, Arizona’s Secretary of State Who Defended Elections Amid GOP Attacks, Launches Bid for Governor

“We did our job,” she said in a video announcing her bid. “They refused to do theirs. And there’s a lot more work to be done… When you’re under attack, some would have you believe you have two choices: fight or give in. But there is a third option: get the job done,” she adds in the video. “I’m here to solve problems.”

“The other side isn’t offering policies to make our lives better, they’re offering conspiracy theories that only make our lives worse,” she says firmly.

You can watch her campaign announcement below.

I’m running for Governor to deliver transparency, accountability, and results for Arizonans — just like I’ve done my whole career.

Join me: https://t.co/LM2sCDVynA pic.twitter.com/5y3QtFvYAk

— Katie Hobbs (@katiehobbs) June 2, 2021

Hobbs made national headlines for condemning efforts to subvert the vote in her state, which went for President Joe Biden in the 2020 general election. She has since gained a higher profile on cable news programs and has often spoken out about the controversy surrounding a Republican-led election audit of vote counts.

Last month, for instance, Hobbs said her office has been working “with a lawsuit that’s been filed to try to address the security’s concerns at a minimum, but at this point, this seems like such a farce that it would be a good idea to stop it.”

“We have so many concerns about this exercise,” Hobbs said at the time. “I kind of don’t want to call it an audit. I think that’s an insult to professional auditors everywhere because they’re making this stuff up as they go along,” adding: “I think there was a high level of expectation that whoever had their hands on the ballots and the equipment would adhere to some level of security measures and transparency, and that clearly has not happened.”

The audit could take as long as two months; previous audits found no evidence that the election had been rigged.