Arizona's tumultuous political history has elevated importance of secretary-of-state post

The most visible duty awaiting Secretary of State-elect Katie Hobbs, a state senator who defeated Republican businessman Steve Gaynor for the post, is oversight of state elections.

But the actual conduct of the vote and the tallying is done at the county level, albeit under rules that the secretary of state adopts with the approval of the attorney general.

The office has other responsibilities, including regulating notaries, keeping track of telephone solicitors, registering trade names and being a central place for individuals to file “advanced directives.”

But what could be the most significant part of the job involves being available should the governor die, quit or otherwise be removed from office.

Unlike many other states, Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor. That puts the secretary of state first in line of succession, a process that has played out multiple times in the past few decades.

There is no requirement that the person elected to this spot be of the same party or share the political philosophy of whomever he or she replaces.

That’s precisely what occurred in 2009, when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano quit to take a job in the Obama administration. That elevated Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer to governor.

Sometimes, the transitions are less voluntary.

Republican Gov. Fife Symington had to quit in 1997 after being convicted in federal court of criminal fraud charges.

That conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court, and he was not retried after being pardoned by President Bill Clinton. But by that time, it was too late to reclaim the office that had been assumed by his fellow Republican, Jane Hull.

Also leaving, and not by his own accord, was Republican Gov. Evan Mecham, who was impeached and convicted in 1988. That put Secretary of State Rose Mofford, a Democrat, into the governor’s chair.

And when Democratic Gov. Raul Castro quit to become President Jimmy Carter’s ambassador to Argentina in 1977, he was succeeded by Republican Secretary of State Wesley Bolin.

Bolin died after less than a year in office.

Under normal circumstances, the job would have gone to the secretary of state. That was Mofford, whom Bolin appointed to replace him in that job.

But because Mofford had not been elected to the office, the line of succession went to the next in line: Attorney General Bruce Babbitt.

That changed Arizona history. As attorney general, Babbitt, a Democrat, had been contemplating a run in 1980 for U.S. Senate against incumbent Republican Barry Goldwater.

But once Babbitt found himself as governor, he decided to keep the job, winning a full four-year term in 1978 and re-election in 1982.

This year, incumbent Republican Secretary of State Michele Reagan was defeated by Gaynor in the GOP primary. Prior to Hobbs, the last Democrat elected to the post was Richard Mahoney, who held it from 1991 to 1995.

Hobbs will be No. 2 in statewide office to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.