No denialism or drama as Arizona certifies election results

• Trump and his allies attempted to overturn Joe Biden's win in Arizona and nationally in the Electoral College. 

Driving the news: There was no such drama Monday as Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Timmer met to certify the 2024 general election results. 

• Hobbs, who was secretary of state in 2020, said the last election was certified against "a backdrop of raging conspiracy theories, attempts to stop certification across the country that all culminated in an attempted insurrection."

What they're saying: Given that the 2024 election was conducted largely by the same people and under the same rules as in 2020, Fontes declared, "I think the age of election denialism is, for all intents and purposes, dead." 

• Mayes, still facing litigation challenging her win in the 2022 attorney general's race, disagreed, saying, "Do I think election denialism is dead? No, I don't."
• Hobbs wouldn't speculate on whether it's over but noted that the people who disputed the 2020 election results "got quiet when they got the result they wanted." 

State of play: The certification of Proposition 139 officially opens the door to a lawsuit challenging Arizona's 15-week abortion ban, a necessary prerequisite for the more permissive laws approved by the voters.

• Prop. 139 permits abortions through fetal viability, around 24 weeks, with exemptions to protect the health or life of the mother. 

The intrigue: Fontes opened the canvass with a joke about his recent comments that he's considering challenging Hobbs in the 2026 Democratic primary for governor, introducing himself as the secretary of state "for now."

• "Whatever other people are talking about, we're going to leave all that outside the door for today. But for now, I'm very happy being the secretary of state, and I'm very happy to work with Gov. Katie Hobbs," he said later on when asked directly about the possibility.
• Hobbs later declined to comment on Fontes' possible challenge, telling reporters at a separate press event: "I'm not thinking about the next election right now. I am thinking about continuing to deliver for Arizonans on the issues that matter, like border security and housing affordability and our water future."