Arizona AG race recount confirms Democrat Kris Mayes won by narrower margin

A recount of the Arizona attorney general's race confirmed that Democratic candidate Kris Mayes won the race, albeit by a significantly narrower margin than the original margin.

Mayes emerged from the recount with a lead of 280 votes, nearly half of the 511 vote lead she held after the original tally, according to AZ Central. The race is the closest statewide contest in Arizona history.

Mayes's Republican opponent, Abe Hamadeh, has challenged the election results and previously sought to pause the recount, though that effort was unsuccessful. He has further contended that errors in Maricopa County resulted in turned away voters and cost him the race.

"I will say once again that I'm thankful to everyone who took their time to vote, and democracy is truly a team sport," Mayes said in a prepared statement. "I'm thankful for my campaign, transition and legal teams. I'm excited and ready to get to work as your next Attorney General and vow to be your Lawyer for the People. Onward..."

The final margin put Mayes a mere 0.01% ahead of Hamadeh out of more than 2.5 million ballots cast, according to The Hill.

Hamadeh, for his part, is still mulling legal options and contends that at least 4,000 provisional ballots were not counted. "Voters have been disenfranchised," he said in a Thursday tweet.