The Associated Press called the Arizona Senate race for incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly on Friday night. Democrats now only need one seat to maintain control of the Senate. Kelly defeated Republican candidate Blake Masters, a venture capitalist and political newcomer.
“It’s been one of the great honors of my life to serve as Arizona’s Senator,” Kelly said in a statement to the AP. “I’m humbled by the trust our state has placed in me to continue this work.”
The seat was called for Kelly after Maricopa County released a batch of votes Friday night, putting Kelly’s lead out of reach for Masters. Kelly was ahead by over 123,000 votes, with 52% of the vote compared to Masters’ 46%.
With Kelly’s victory, Democrats only need one more seat to retake the Senate. Democrats can control the Senate in a 50-50 split because of the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. Republicans would need to win both the run-off election in Georgia and the Senate race in Nevada in order to take control of the Senate.
The Senate race in Nevada remains too close to call, as incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto pulled within around 800 votes of Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt by Friday night. Laxalt still represents the GOP’s best chance of ousting a Democratic senator. Nevada state law allows for ballots to arrive by mail until this Saturday, Nov. 12.
If Laxalt wins in Nevada, then control of the Senate depends on who wins the Georgia Senate runoff election officially set for Dec. 6.