Former astronaut Mark Kelly, a Democrat, will win the Senate race in Arizona, defeating incumbent GOP Sen. Martha McSally, CNN and ABC News project. Kelly will fill John McCain’s Senate seat through 2022.
The Arizona race became one of the most closely watched in part because it’s one of the Democrats’ best opportunities to flip the Republican-controlled Senate.
If Biden is elected, Democrats would only need three seats as Kamala Harris could break ties in the senate.
Arizona has been counting ballots for two weeks, and early ballots account for 85% of the vote there.
One factor at play is the state’s changing demographics. Arizona has one of the fastest-growing Latino populations in the nation, with that community representing more than 30% of the population there, according to Pew Research.
Democrats also showed they were able to win significant votes from independents, which is how a third of voters identify as in the state.
