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Democrat Mark Kelly defeated his Republican rival Blake Masters to win the Senate seat from Arizona. The result in the crucial undecided state leaves the progressives one seat away from obtaining a majority in the Upper House, after the elections on November 8.
Crucial win for Democrats in the Senate. Election authorities confirmed that lawmaker Mark Kelly was re-elected as senator from the swing state of Arizona.
The former astronaut and husband of former US representative Gabby Giffords will remain in his seat after facing Republican Blake Masters at the polls.
The conservative politician had the explicit support of former President Donald Trump, which adds a new defeat to the candidates supported by the controversial ex-president.
The race for Arizona was one of the few contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to seize control of the Senate, which renews a third of its seats in the midterm elections.
Arizona is a former stronghold of the right and this was yet another test of the Democrats’ gains in the once reliably GOP-dominated state.
The progressives have achieved significant positions there in the last elections. In the past 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden won there by 0.3%.
In the campaign for the midterm elections, last Tuesday, November 8, Kelly successfully portrayed his opponent as a far-right politician, emphasizing the controversial comments Masters made when he suggested that Social Security should be privatized.
Amid the hotly contested campaign, Masters was forced to remove parts of his official website, where he advocated for a total ban on abortion.
Finally, the Democrat managed to prevail and be re-elected to represent his State in the Upper House.
Mark Kelly is considered a moderate Democrat, who has pushed to lower prescription drug costs and has also been critical of the Biden Administration’s response to asylum seekers at the Mexican border at times.
How is the race for control of the Senate?
After the victory of Mark Kelly and due to the tie-breaking vote to which Democrat Kamala Harris has access, in her capacity as vice president of the country, the Democrats are one seat away from controlling the Senate.
Progressives can retain control of the upper house if they win the Nevada race or the runoff election next month in Georgia.
For their part, the Republicans now must win both races to obtain a majority.
In Georgia, Raphael Warnock will head to a second round on December 6 against Republican and former college football star Herschel Walker, who is endorsed by Donald Trump.
The two will meet again at the polls after neither managed to break the 50% threshold needed to win in the first round.
Walker had been plagued by a series of scandals, including allegations of domestic violence. A staunch supporter of an abortion ban, his candidacy was rocked by reports that he had paid for abortions by ex-girlfriends in the past.
Meanwhile, Warnock, who serves as a pastor at the Atlanta church once led by Martin Luther King Jr., won a surprise victory in a special election in early 2021 following the resignation of Sen. Johnny Isakson. It was that result that gave Democrats control of the US Senate, thanks to Harris’ tiebreaking vote.
Now, the results of the contests for the Upper House in Nevada or Georgia will determine which group will hold control of the Senate.
With Reuters and AP
