Kelly Defeats Masters In Key Arizona Senate Race, Leaving Democrats One Win From Senate Control

Topline

Mark Kelly won the pivotal Arizona Senate race against Blake Masters, the Associated Press confirmed Friday night, meaning Democrats are just one win away from securing majority control of the upper chamber.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) won his high-profile senate race against Republican Blake Masters.

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Key Facts

The Associated Press called the race Friday night, with Kelly ahead 51.8% to 46.1%, leaving just the Alaska and Nevada races to be called—Georgia’s hotly contested race between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Republican Herschel Walker is headed to a runoff on December 6.

Kelly, a former Navy pilot and astronaut who is married to former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, tweeted, “Thank you, Arizona.”

Kelly cast himself as a moderate who is willing to work across the aisle, campaigning with prominent Arizona Republicans in his final push to win a full term (he won the seat in a special election in 2020 following the death of former Sen. John McCain).

Masters, a first-time candidate and venture capitalist who helped spread conspiracies that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in President Joe Biden’s favor, Masters won the Republican primary by a comfortable 12-point margin with the help of a $15 million infusion from Thiel and Trump’s backing.

Headed into Election Day, polls showed Kelly with a slim 1.5-point lead over Masters, according to FiveThirtyEight.

Key Background

Bolstered by Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s momentum and late ad spending from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, along with the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. PAC, Masters gained more than 6 points in the polls in the final month of the campaign. Still, Kelly’s fundraising figures dwarfed Masters’—the incumbent had more than $81 million in cash on hand as of Monday, according to Federal Elections Commission data, while Masters ended the campaign with more than $12 million. Ads in support of Masters tied Kelly to President Joe Biden, claiming the incumbent supported progressive criminal justice policies that offered benefits to incarcerated people and backed immigration initiatives that caused chaos at the border. Kelly, meanwhile, hammered Masters over his support for abortions, with some exceptions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

What To Watch For

As of Saturday morning, three more Senate races have not yet been decided, including the Georgia Senate runoff on December 6. In Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt has a narrow lead over Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) 48.5% to 48.4%, with just 850 votes separating the two candidates and 95% of ballots counted. In Alaska, far-right candidate Kelly Tshibaka has a 44.2% to 42.8% lead over incumbent Lisa Murkowski (R-Ak.).

Topline

Key Facts

Key Background

What To Watch For

Further Reading