Democratic US Senator Mark Kelly on Friday won his bid for re-election in the crucial swing state of Arizona, defeating Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters to put his party one victory away from clinching control of the chamber for the next two years of US President Joe Biden’s tenure.
With US Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the US Senate by winning either the Nevada race, which remains too early to call, or next month’s runoff in Georgia.
Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority.
Photo: AFP
The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of the 50-50 US Senate. It was a test of the inroads that Kelly and other Democrats have made in a state once reliably dominated by Republicans. Kelly’s victory suggests Democratic success in Arizona was not an aberration during former US president Donald Trump’s tenure.
The closely watched race for governor between Democrat Katie Hobbs and Republican Kari Lake was too early to call Friday night. In the secretary of state’s race, Democrat Adrian Fontes defeated Republican Mark Finchem, a top 2020 election denier.
Kelly, a former NASA astronaut who has flown in space four times, is married to former US representative Gabby Giffords, who inspired the nation with her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head during an assassination attempt in 2011 that killed six people and injured 13. Kelly and Giffords went on to cofound a gun safety advocacy group.
“It’s been one of the great honors of my life to serve as Arizona’s senator,” Kelly said in a statement. “I’m humbled by the trust our state has placed in me to continue this work.”
Kelly’s victory in a 2020 special election spurred by the death of Republican US senator John McCain gave Democrats both of Arizona’s Senate seats for the first time in 70 years. The shift was propelled by the state’s fast-changing demographics and the unpopularity of Trump.
Kelly’s campaign this year largely focused on his support for abortion rights, protecting Social Security, lowering drug prices and ensuring a stable water supply in the midst of a drought.
With Biden struggling with low approval ratings, Kelly distanced himself from the president, particularly on border security, and played down his Democratic affiliation amid angst about the state of the economy.
He also styled himself as an independent willing to buck his party, in the style of McCain.
Masters, an acolyte of billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, earned Trump’s endorsement after claiming “Trump won in 2020,” but under pressure during a debate last month, he acknowledged he has not seen evidence that the election was rigged.
He later doubled down on the false claim that Trump won.
On Friday, Masters did not immediately concede defeat, and late on Friday Trump said that the result was “a scam and voter fraud.”
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