Kelly’s Victory in Arizona Moves the Democrats: Kelly’s Victory in Arizona Moves the Democrats: During his election night event on November 8, 2022, in Tucson, Arizona, Senator Mark Kelly (D-Arizona) addresses supporters gathered at the Rialto Theatre.
The Democrats Are Getting Closer to Keeping the Senate With Kelly’s Win in Arizona
On Friday, Sen. Mark Kelly (D) was forecast to defeat Republican Blake Masters in Arizona, improving Democrats’ hopes of retaining Senate control for two more years.
Democrats get a 49th Senate seat, slightly below the 50 needed to govern the chamber, where Vice President Harris may break ties. Republicans, who have 49 members, must now flip Nevada and Georgia seats to take control. As postal ballots are counted in Nevada’s close election, Democrats are cautiously confident they may win the majority before Georgia’s December runoff.
Regardless of the outcome in the House, which was still undecided late Friday, Democratic control of the Senate would give Biden some influence on Capitol Hill. Republican control of the Senate may delay or obstruct Biden’s cabinet and judicial confirmations for the next two years.
Republicans needed just one seat to take control of the equally split upper house of Congress in the midterm elections. On election night, Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) defeated celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, another first-time Republican candidate backed by former president Donald Trump, to flip a vital Senate seat in Pennsylvania. After an expensive campaign, retired astronaut Kelly defeated venture capitalist Masters. . However, late polling showed the race tightening to a toss-up.
Late Friday, Kelly led by about 6%. Arizona’s high inflation and opposition to the Biden administration’s border policy made it a potential GOP pickup.
Masters earned the nomination with Trump’s support and $15 million from Peter Thiel, a friend, and mentor. In a campaign ad, he claimed Trump won the 2020 election. Masters, a first-time candidate, raised GOP concerns that key candidates were failing. The Senate Leadership Fund, allied with Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R), began withdrawing weeks after the primary, but other GOP groups helped Masters fight on the airways with Kelly, one of the Senate’s finest fundraisers. Masters called McConnell and the Republican establishment “incompetent” on Fox News this week, continuing his primary critique.
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This plan was termed internally as the “surge”—a wager that early spending would help define Masters for general-election voters. The aides, who spoke anonymously to discuss strategy, claimed Masters’ unfavorable ratings rose from 35% to 48% in Kelly campaign surveys between late July and early September. Masters described the Democratic plan in an Aug. 19 radio interview: “They’re trying to nuke me, you know, they’re trying to murder the baby in the cradle here.”
Kelly’s commercials intended to distinguish him from Biden on the border and promote his independence. Masters’ campaign did not respond Friday night about whether he would concede. Masters’ Thursday fundraising appeal stated that “some of the issues we’ve seen emerge during this election are disturbing.” “We’re expecting a tough route forward and court battles.”
Masters claimed without proof on Fox News presenter Tucker Carlson’s show Friday night that Maricopa County, home to more than half of Arizona’s votes, had “mixed up” ballots twice. A county spokesperson and a campaign spokesman did not immediately provide evidence supporting such accusations.
Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D) edged former football star Herschel Walker (R) in Georgia. Democrat Adrian Fontes defeated Republican Mark Finchem, a far-right state senator who demanded to monitor of Arizona’s elections and falsely tried to decertify the 2020 results.
Finchem ran on Trump’s phony accusations that the 2020 election was stolen. . The state secretary certifies the results. Fontes remarked after his race that Republicans and independents want the truth. “They don’t care about lying. It means democracy will endure in this nation for now. On Friday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) trailed former state attorney general Adam Laxalt (GOP) in Nevada.
Republicans were certain of retaking the House, but the Senate was more unclear. Democrats won Colorado, New Hampshire, and Washington state, while Republicans retained close seats in North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The GOP believes they can win a House majority with five seats.
On Friday, Republican Joe Lombardo was expected to defeat Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in Nevada, the GOP’s first governor’s race win this election year.
Sisolak stated it “appears we will fall a percentage point or two shy of winning” and that he believes in “our electoral system, in democracy and recognizing the choice of Nevada voters” before the race was called Friday night. He wished Lombardo well after four years of epidemic and inflation.
He called himself a “pro-life governor,” but Sisolak accused him of shifting opinions for political gain.
“Our win is a triumph for all Nevadans who want our state to get back on track,” Lombardo stated Friday night. “Small business owners, parents, students, and law enforcement won.”
In a year when several Democratic incumbents resisted GOP predictions of a red wave, Lombardo’s victory marked the GOP’s first gubernatorial gain.
