PHOENIX (AP) 鈥� Democratic Sen. won his bid for reelection Friday in the crucial swing state of Arizona, defeating Republican venture capitalist to put his party one victory away from clinching for the next two years of Joe Biden鈥檚 presidency.
With Vice President Kamala Harris鈥� tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the Senate by winning either the , which remains too early to call, or next month鈥檚 Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority.
The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of the 50-50 Senate. It was a test of the inroads that Kelly and other Democrats have made in a state once reliably dominated by the GOP. 碍别濒濒测鈥檚 victory suggests was not an aberration during Donald Trump鈥檚 presidency.
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鈥檚 flown in space four times, is married to former U.S. Rep. , 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 .
Kelly and Giffords were at an Elton John concert in Phoenix on Friday night when The Associated Press called the race, campaign spokesperson Sarah Guggenheimer said. Maricopa County reported a large batch of results that increased Kelly's lead and made clear Masters could not make up the difference with the remaining ballots.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been one of the great honors of my life to serve as Arizona鈥檚 Senator,鈥� Kelly said in a statement. 鈥淚鈥檓 humbled by the trust our state has placed in me to continue this work.鈥�
碍别濒濒测鈥檚 spurred by the death of Republican Sen. John McCain gave Democrats both of Arizona鈥檚 Senate seats for the first time in 70 years. The shift was propelled by the state鈥檚 fast-changing demographics and the unpopularity of Trump.
碍别濒濒测鈥檚 2022 campaign 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, which has curtailed Arizona鈥檚 cut of Colorado River water.
With President Joe Biden struggling with low approval ratings, Kelly , 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, tried to penetrate 碍别濒濒测鈥檚 independent image, aligning him with Biden鈥檚 failure to secure the U.S.-Mexico border and tamp down on rampant inflation.
Masters endeared himself to many GOP primary voters with his and contrarian thinking. He called for privatizing Social Security, took a hard-line stance against abortion and promoted a racist theory popular with white nationalists that Democrats are seeking to use immigration to replace white people in America.
But after emerging bruised from a contentious primary, Masters struggled to raise money and was put on the defense over his controversial positions.
He earned Trump鈥檚 endorsement after claiming 鈥淭rump won in 2020,鈥� but under pressure during a debate last month, he acknowledged he hasn鈥檛 seen evidence the election was rigged. He later doubled down on the false claim that Trump won.
After the primary, he scrubbed some of his more controversial positions from his website, but it wasn鈥檛 enough for the moderate swing voters who decided the election.
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Follow the AP鈥檚 coverage of the 2022 midterm elections at . And check out to learn more about the issues and factors at play in the midterms.
Jonathan J. Cooper, The Associated Press
