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

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) holds a speech on Election Night.

(Image credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

published 12 November 2022

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.

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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.

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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.

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