Arizona Senate 2018 Midterm: Who Leads Now In McSally-Sinema Race

PHOENIX, AZ — Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema pulled ahead by about 32,640 votes Sunday in Arizona’s still uncalled midterm election Senate race, leading Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally, 49.6 percent to 48.1 percent.

The lead could change again, as it has throughout the laborious count, which may not be completed until Thursday. More than 250,000 votes remain uncounted, most in urban and suburban counties that historically have been more favorable to Democrats.

The two congresswomen are running for the seat Republican Sen. Jeff Flake is vacating. Sinema, 42, has served Arizona’s 9th District since 2013, and McSally, 52, has served the 2nd District since 2015. Whoever wins will become the first woman to be elected to the Senate in Arizona. If Sinema wins, she will be the first Democratic senator elected since 1988.

McSally led in Election Night counts, but Sinema has since been picking up votes in the closely watched race that was the subject of a lawsuit by Republican parties in four Arizona counties. That lawsuit challenged the way county recorders verify signatures and wanted to stop the count, but a settlement Friday between Republicans and Democrats allows the vote count to continue.

Also unresolved are the Senate race in Florida between incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Gov. Rick Scott, which is subject to a recount, and a late-November runoff race in Mississippi between Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith and Democrat Mike Espy. In Florida, Scott leads by 0.14 percentage points — or fewer than 13,000 votes — narrow enough to trigger an automatic recount, which must be completed by Friday. A

Democrats picked up a majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm election, where turnout rivaled that of a presidential election. Depending on the outcome of the the Arizona, Florida and Mississippi races, the GOP could hold as many as 54 or as few as 52 seats in the Senate.

See Also

• Sinema Leads; Vote Count Will Continue After Lawsuit Settled
  
• Arizona 2018 Senate Results: McSally-Sinema Race Still Not Called
  

Sinema, 42, has served Arizona’s 9th District since 2013, and McSally, 52, has served the 2nd District since 2015.

Without evidence, President Trump raised questions about the fairness of the race. “Just out — in Arizona, SIGNATURES DON’T MATCH,” Trump tweeted. “Electoral corruption — Call for new election? We must protect our Democracy!”

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was among those rebuking Trump’s claims. “We often hear the phrase: Every vote matters. And the #AZSen race is proof. So let’s get this right. All legally cast votes MUST be counted. Lawful votes in EVERY county in the state MUST be counted,” Ducey tweeted.

In another tweet, he wrote, “Let’s follow the law, count the votes, prevent any cheating, and heed the will of voters.”

National and state Republican parties also questioned the legitimacy of the election; however, on Sunday, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee backed away from those claims after the lawsuit was settled.

"I believe there's been an agreement amongst the counties with the officials there to count everything the same, to follow the same procedure," Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told CNN Sunday "And that's important, because a vote that's cast in Yuma shouldn't be disqualified under the same provision that qualifies a vote in Maricopa."

He added, "I think that's the agreement we reached in Arizona, and I think that's a good outcome."

Sluggish vote counts are a perennial issue for Arizona, but the issue hasn’t gained attention nationally until this year, when the Sinema-McSally race was one of the most closely watched in the country. About 75 percent of the votes come in by mail, and each goes through a signature verification process.

If signatures on ballot envelopes don’t match those on file, voters are typically given up to five days to help “cure” the problems.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

Lead photo: Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema participates in the pregame coin toss before the game between the Utah Utes and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Sun Devil Stadium on Nov. 3 in Tempe, Arizona. Sinema is running against two-term congresswoman Martha McSally. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)