All eyes are on Arizona's Maricopa County as new data drops indicate more support for trailing Senate candidate Kari Lake

As the 2024 United States General Election nears a conclusion, all eyes have been on Maricopa County in Arizona where recorder Stephen Richer has been slow to tabulate remaining uncounted early ballots. This proves to be crucial as the rest of the country anxiously awaits the results of an extremely tight Senate race between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Ruben Gallego. 

While Republicans have taken control of the Senate heading into 2025, races in key states such as Arizona have yet to be called. And with only 77 percent of the vote counted in the state, the results from Arizona will most likely come last. AZ Central reports that officials estimate ballot counting will continue for 10 to 13 days after Tuesday's Election Day.

That being said, Maricopa County data dumps from Thursday night and Friday morning showed a path for victory for Lake, who is currently trailing behind her opponent 48.2 percent to Gallego's 49.7 percent statewide. As of Thursday, 70,000 more votes were counted with 57 percent of them being in Lake's favor. As of Friday morning, another 23,000 votes were counted with 58 percent in Lake's favor, per Turning Point USA's Charlie Kirk. 

There are an estimated 472,000 ballots left to be counted in the county, according to the Maricopa County website. At the county level, Lake trails Gallego 47 percent to 51 percent. But with the new data drops, many are hopeful the remaining ballots could turn this around. As for the sluggish results, Richer has pointed to the size of the county, which is the second largest in the nation, and the length of this year's 2-page ballot, per Fox 10. Ballots also have to be cured for issues such as signatures and dates up to 5 days past Election Day.