Katie Hobbs, as Secretary of State the most senior state elected Democratic official in Arizona, has announced that she is running for governor in 2022, CNN reports.

Republican Governor Doug Ducey is ineligible to run for reelection due to state term limits, so the race will be open for both major parties.  However, Arizona saw a swing toward Democrats in the last election, with voters choosing two Democrats to fill their seats in the US Senate as well as voting for Democrat Joe Biden for president.

Arizona Republicans are attempting to undermine the certified elections in the state, however, supporting a going-nowhere private recount of votes in the Democratic stronghold of Maricopa County.  State senate Republicans chose a private company with not election or recount experience, Cyber Ninjas, to manage the recount is a widely mocked effort to somehow switch the outcome of the popular vote to show Donald Trump won.  Hobbs has been highly critical of not just the audit, but of Republican efforts to undermine the election.

“There is real harm going on for many.  And the other side isn’t offering policies to make our lives better, they are offering conspiracies that only make our lives worse,” Hobbs says in the video announcing her candidacy for governor.  “We did our jobs. They refuse to do theirs.  And there is a lot more work to be done.  That is why I am running for governor.”

Hobbs won the 2018 statewide race for Secretary of State by less than 1% of the vote.  A Phoenix native, Hobbs has also served in both the state house and the state senate.