Trump-Backed Candidate Basks in Victory, Finds Out He's Behind in Race

The Republican Arizona attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh has expressed his frustration at the election issues facing his state.

Hamadeh, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, earlier appeared to write a victory tweet while the counting was ongoing on Wednesday.

"I want to thank the people of Arizona for entrusting me with this great responsibility. I will NEVER forget who I'm fighting for," he wrote as he captioned a picture of himself speaking in front of a crowd.

Kari Lake, who is the Republican candidate for the position as Arizona's governor, even tweeted congratulations to Hamadeh.

However, some social media users were confused by the comments. The counting hadn't been concluded and the race over his opponent Democrat Kris Mayes wasn't yet called.

It was later announced, by the Maricopa County Elections Department, that many tabulation machines in the county weren't working correctly. That meant the results of the Arizona attorney general race couldn't be called by the end of the day.

With 74 percent of the votes counted, Hamadeh was trailing at 49.9 percent to Mayes on 50.1 percent, according to NBC News.

Hours after his initial tweet, Hamadeh again took to Twitter to vent his frustrations.

"Arizona DESERVES results on Election Day. This is an embarrassment. Maricopa County needs accountability," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he added: "All we ask for is free, fair, transparent, and competent elections. Is that too much to ask for?"

The Abe Hamadeh War Room Twitter page also criticized the delay due to the voting issues.

"Third world countries run their elections better than @maricopacounty," the page said in a tweet that was retweeted by Hamadeh.

"Abraham Hamadeh ran on the platform of election integrity.

"His resolve to restore constituent trust in this process has only been hardened after this latest debacle."

Maricopa County Elections Department Chairman Bill Gates tweeted that voters should follow one of three options if voting at a precinct where a tabulator isn't working—stay in line and wait for the machine to come online, drop the ballot in the secure slot on the tabulator instead of feeding it into the tabulator, or go to a nearby vote center to cast their vote.

Republicans were outraged with the suggestions, despite Gates assuring voters that their votes would count regardless of which option they chose.

During a press conference on Monday addressing potential misinformation claims, Gates said people spreading misinformation often claimed that if votes weren't finalized by Election Day night or early the next morning, it was evidence of fraud. Gates said that wasn't the case and was because of mail-in voting, which wouldn't be fully processed until Wednesday.