Kennedy, Olson win:
Pair will take seats on the Corporation Commission.
Democrat Sandra Kennedy and Republican Justin Olson are the apparent winners in the race for two seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission in the latest election returns.
The third-place candidate has called both Kennedy and Olson to congratulate them on their victories, the two said.
Kennedy on Friday surpassed Republican Rodney Glassman, and following a large batch of votes from Maricopa County on Saturday she overtook Olson, whom Gov. Doug Ducey appointed to the commis- last year.
Kennedy’s campaign released a statement late Tuesday declaring victory.
“After reviewing today’s ballot count update, Sandra Kennedy is pleased to claim victory in her campaign to return to the Arizona Corporation Commission, noting that she received the most votes in a four-way race,” the statement said.
Kennedy’s statement also thanked “Republican, Independent and Democratic voters” for supporting her campaign against “corruption” at the commission and to promote solar energy.
Kennedy and Olson both said they got concession calls from Glassman on Wednesday night.
“He wished me well in the upcoming term,” Olson said. “I think it was a real pleasure to be able to run with him. I’m looking forward to likely serving.”
The race has not been called by the Associated Press, as thousands of votes remain to be counted.
On election night, the AP projected that Olson and Glassman would each win four-year terms. On Saturday, the news organization retracted its call, saying no new call will be made until the results of the election are certified by Arizona officials.
Counties have tallied more votes since Saturday, but they haven’t affected the respective leads in the race.
Kennedy leads by more than 10,000 votes over Olson, while the race between him and Glassman for the second seat is about 4,000 votes. The Arizona Republic is estimating about 124,000 ballots remain to be counted statewide, with about 104,000 of those in Maricopa Counsion ty. Kennedy and Olson are leading in that county so far.
The five Corporation Commission members in Arizona set water, electric and gas utility rates and policies, and oversee other matters such as securities, railroad crossings and pipeline safety.
They serve four-year terms and are paid $79,500 annually. In presidential election years, the other three seats are decided by voters.
Kennedy was one of the last two Democrats to hold statewide office in Arizona when she was a commissioner in 2012, although she and Democrat Paul Newman did not get re-elected that year.