Democrat Ruben Gallego has won the open Senate seat in Arizona, defeating GOP opponent Kari Lake.
Gallego’s victory marks the final Senate race call of the 2024 elections. Including two independents who caucus with Democrats, Republicans will hold 53 seats to Democrats’ 47 when the new Congress is sworn in on Jan. 3.
Gallego is making the jump to the Senate from the House, where he was first elected in 2014. Gallego was a strong fundraiser and ran ads focused on his personal story and military service — but not on his progressive voting record representing a safe seat in Phoenix.
Lake, a bombastic former TV anchor and Donald Trump acolyte, has now fallen short in two consecutive elections, after a narrow defeat for the governorship in 2022. Despite Arizona’s status as a battleground state home to close races, major national Republican groups mostly stayed out of the race, while Gallego and national Democrats enjoyed a massive spending advantage.
The seat was vacated by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who was elected as a Democrat but left the party in late 2022 and finished her term as an independent.
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