Let go of conspiracies, says Democratic Senator Kelly
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly has won the Arizona Senate race, handing the Democrats a key victory in their path to holding onto the majority in the upper chamber of Congress.
Mr Kelly urged Arizonans to let go of “conspiracies of the past”, calling for unity a day after he won reelection to a crucial Senate seat.
Mr Kelly defeated Republican Blake Masters, who along with most of the rest of the GOP slate was endorsed by Donald Trump after pushing the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. “After a long election, it can be tempting to remain focused on the things that divide us,” Mr Kelly said in a victory speech at a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix yesterday.
“But we’ve seen the consequences that come when leaders refuse to accept the truth and focus more on conspiracies of the past than solving the challenges that we face today.”
Mr Kelly won after distancing himself from Joe Biden and building an image as an independent lawmaker not beholden to his party. He cast himself in the mould of his predecessor, the late Republican John McCain, whose influence is still felt in Arizona politics four years after his death.
The victory put Democrats one win away from clinching control of the chamber for the next two years of Mr Biden’s presidency.
Earlier, President Biden insisted that hopes for the Democrats to hold onto the House of Representatives are still alive even as the GOP closes in on a narrow majority. “It’s still alive. It’s still alive. But it’s like drawing an inside straight,” he told reporters.
President Biden also denied earlier acknowledging Republicans’ victory during a conversation with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “I said if you win the majority, congratulations,” Mr Biden clarified.
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez beat Trump-backed Republican Joe Kent in a win that represents a major upset for the Democrats and more humiliation for the former president.
Five days after voters went to the polls in the 2022 midterms, the Associated Press called the race for the 34-year-old, and local media described her win as “perhaps the most stunning political upset in the country this year”.
“I am humbled and honoured by the vote of confidence the people of Southwest Washington have put in me and my campaign. Right up to the end, far-away pundits and prognosticators said this race couldn’t be won,” she said in a
statement yesterday evening. “They dismissed the possibility that a moderate Democrat focused on prioritising the needs of this district over partisan point scoring could win in a rural, working class district.”
In Nevada, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is neck and neck with Republican Adam Laxalt, with more ballots to be counted.
Meanwhile, the Arizona governor’s race between Republican Kari Lake and Democrat Katie Hobbs, and Republican Lauren Boebert’s reelection prospects in Colorado against Democrat Adam Frisch remain too close to call.
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