Mark Kelly re-elected in Arizona, Democrats inch toward Senate control


Former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) has won his bid for re-election in Arizona's Senate race, beating Republican challenger Blake Masters, CNN and The Associated Press projected Friday.
With 85 percent of precincts in Arizona reporting, Kelly had carried 51.8 percent of the vote compared to Masters' 46.1 percent, and was leading by more than 120,000 votes.
"It's been one of the great honors of my life to serve as Arizona's senator," Kelly said in a statement. "I'm humbled by the trust our state has placed in me to continue this work."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Masters has not yet conceded, and his official Twitter account had not tweeted in more than 14 hours as of Saturday morning.
Kelly's re-election marks a significant victory for Democrats, who are now just a single seat away from maintaining power in the Senate. Control of the chamber will likely now come down to the upcoming runoff election in Georgia.
While Kelly was always ahead in the polls, his victory was not guaranteed, with Masters gaining support in recent days from Donald Trump-backed super PACS and Arizona Republicans vying to regain control of the state following the 2020 general election. FiveThirtyEight had projected Arizona as "leaning Democratic," but the race was still notably close. However, a push from former President Barack Obama may have helped put Kelly over the edge.
The liberal Kelly often sparred with Masters, a venture capitalist who, throughout his campaign, sought to present himself as a hardened ally of former President Trump.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
October 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include half-truth hucksters, Capitol lockdown, and more
-
Jaguar Land Rover’s cyber bailout
Talking Point Should the government do more to protect business from the ‘cyber shockwave’?
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland