The Senate campaign of Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., is growing more bullish about her chances to win the open seat race.
Sinema took the lead Thursday night over Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who held the advantage after Election Night. Sinema took a 9,610-vote lead with 500,000 ballots still uncounted as votes continued to be tallied, primarily in the Phoenix area.
The GOP thought it had a 54 to 46 majority within its grasp but defeat in Arizona and Florida – where there are also recounts in a tight race – would cut that margin to 52 to 48. Arizona would be a pick-up for Democrats – Sinema and McSally were running for the seat vacated by Jeff Flake, the republican incumbent, who decided not to run after it became clear he would lose in the GOP primary.
“Yesterday and this morning confirmed our expectation that as the ballots are counted, Kyrsten will steadily build her advantage,” Andrew Piatt, Sinema’s campaign manager, said Friday. “Based on ballots counted yesterday and this morning from Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Apache, Yavapai, Yuma, Gila, Mohave, and Cochise counties, Kyrsten netted 26,236 votes and took a 9,163 vote lead.”
“We are confident trends will continue in Kyrsten’s direction and that she will be elected Arizona’s next U.S. Senator,” Piatt said in a statement. Maricopa County, which includes the city of Phenix, is expected to announce another batch of counted votes Friday night at 7 p.m. EST.
McSally’s campaign insisted it was heading for victory heading into Friday night’s tabulation despite losing their lead on Thursday. “With half a million ballots left to count we remain confident that as votes continue to come in from counties across the state, Martha McSally will be elected Arizona’s next Senator,” McSally campaign CEO Jim Bognet said in a statement.
McSally’s campaign is counting on nearly 200,000 mail-in ballots dropped at the polls on Tuesday that were not counted, which they believe will push her over the top.
