Democrat Kyrsten Sinema's victory in the Arizona U.S. Senate race has sparked speculation about whether the state — home to Senate Republican presidential nominees Barry Goldwater and John McCain — is trending blue.
Sinema's win, along with those of other Democrats, already has sparked talk of a strong Democrat bid for the state’s other Senate seat in 2020, when incumbent Republican Jon Kyl has pledged not to run.
In addition to Sinema edging out Rep. Martha McSally to become Arizona’s first Democrat senator since 1988, Democrats also captured the statewide office of superintendent of public instruction.
In addition, Democrat and former Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick picked up the 1st U.S. House District that had been McSally's. Democrats also made gains in the Republican-ruled state House of Representatives — picking up three seats to raise their ranks to 29 out of 60 seats.
Democrats also maintained their state Senate minority at 13 out of 30 seats.
Sinema’s win became a certainty Monday when McSally conceded. More than 200,000 absentee votes remained to be counted, but it was obvious that the more they were counted, the larger Democrat Sinema’s advantage grew over McSally.
Sinema took a decidedly middle-of-the-road tone in her path to victory. She almost never criticized President Donald Trump, reminded voters she had voted with Trump 60 percent of the time, and supported tougher penalties against employers who knowingly hire non-citizens.
She also underscored the fact that she had not voted for Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.