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You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2018 / Arizona just called

Arizona just called

by | 70 Comments

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First the big news from Arizona:

And now the important news from Arizona:

And…

Both of those tweets are notable because they should not be notable in a healthy political system. The McSally concession came pretty much as soon as it was apparent that there just weren’t the votes for her to win. It took a few days but the Arizona process worked well and to spec. This is a graceful bog standard concession with a disappointed candidate and a good dog.

The tweet by the outgoing Senator is push back on conspiracy theories that if unanswered delegitimate electoral politics. This should be a nothing burger as well in a healthy political environment. Yet it too is noteworthy.

Reader Interactions

70Comments

  5. 5.

    Ken

    Was “Republicans gain two in the Senate” based on the initial AZ results? If so, someone’s going to be upset and hide in his room another day.

  11. 11.

    trollhattan

    This is an important and surprising gain. Not a prediction, but I can foresee the Pacific states plus Nevada and Arizona becoming a reliably blue bloc. Unless Boise becomes a megalopolis I’m writing off Idaho.

  14. 14.

    WaterGirl

    @debbie: @raven: That’s the rumor that’s everywhere, but there hasn’t been any kind of official announcement.

    I’m taking the graceful concession speech after an ugly campaign as an indication that McSally knows she’ll be in the senate anyway.

  15. 15.

    Fishfry

    McSally isn’t classy, her campaign ads were some of the most disgusting I have seen in this state since I started voting. She’s playing nice because she will probably be picked to fill McCain’s seat until the 2020 election. Governor Ducey should have picked someone instead of Kyl to fill the seat and ensure they would stay until the special election. The voters in Arizona have spoken and it wasn’t to send McSally to the senate. Congrats to Krysten Sinema, my new Democratic Senator!

  16. 16.

    Ben Cisco

    We may be seeing the beginnings of narrative rewrites (in which claims for “sane” GOPers ensue). Cynical take? You bet.

  17. 17.

    Yarrow

    Congrats to Sinema! Hard to imagine AZ has a Dem Senator. Amazing.

    In other exciting news:

    Update: At least eight Mueller prosecutors worked today. https://t.co/6yobfSwkZt— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) November 12, 2018

    At least eight Mueller prosecutors working on a holiday. Something’s up.

  20. 20.

    Dan B

    Bad news that Flake is the best national republican. I believe his politics are “courteous cruelty”. Or Darwinian (except can’t use that name…)

    I’d research them but I’m hoping this is his last hurrah.

  21. 21.

    piratedan

    @debbie: speculated but not confirmed….

    Kyl wants to go back to drinking at the lobbyist cash spigot and he was there to hold Kavanaugh’s hand thru confirmation…. McSally would be a fit, but then again, Ducey could nominate Gosar or Biggs or Lesko and the GOP would likely keep those congressional seats based on how the districts currently are inhabited. Possible that there’s some sympathy for nominating McCain’s widow Cindy or Ducey taking the spot himself.

    Depends on personalities and ambition as always…. I know that they like McSally and she’s a loyal Trumper but some people in GOP circles are apparently piqued that she’s not being a raving loon non-stop in order to emulate the current administration.

  24. 24.

    Platonailedit

    So after all of Trump’s gleefulness about how he personally hounded Jeff Flake out of office, Republicans ended up losing Flake’s seat.

    — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) November 13, 2018

    Karma = everything the traitorous thug touches turns into turd.

  30. 30.

    WaterGirl

    @Mary G: Ugh. I thought all the Wilmer fans were boys.

    Followup question: why would Wilmerites care how KG voted for minority leader?

  33. 33.

    schrodingers_cat

    Karma is not cosmic justice but your own deeds (karmas) coming to bite you in the ass. You always pay for your actions, one way or the other

    kar = hands. (same root as maker, baker, etc)

  34. 34.

    Fair Economist

    @Baud: Is anybody else even running for Senate Minority Leader besides Schumer? He apparently has outstanding caucus political skills and is a stellar fundraiser. Last cycle he was unopposed.

  35. 35.

    WaterGirl

    @Baud: hmmm. Maybe my problem is that I don’t see Wilmer fans as being on the left. They are just out for themselves.

  44. 44.

    Mandarama

    I am sure McSally is probably not a good person, if she’s a Trumper…but this was well done. Her golden looks just like my Murphy we lost in August, and I noticed he was trying to put his paw on her arm (golden move), and of course he was on the sofa. So I have to rank her above our crazy wingnut Marsha Blackburn. ☹️

  47. 47.

    janesays

    @Ken: Republicans +2 in the Senate is based on Sinema winning and Nelson losing Florida. If Nelson somehow pulls it off (unlikely – recounts almost never reverse initial results), that brings the GOP down to +1 in the Senate. The vacated Mississippi seat is still technically open pending a runoff election, but there’s pretty close to 0% chance of the Democrat winning that race – it’s only going to a runoff because the two Republicans in the three-way race split the wingnut vote – almost all of McDaniel’s voters will now vote for Hyde-Smith in the runoff.

    That said, +2 for the GOP in the senate is a hell of a lot better than wingnuts were thinking it would be on election night when +5 GOP briefly seemed like an actual possibility (before Montana and Nevada were called for Democrats).

  48. 48.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    Sending thoughts and prayers to Martha McSally.

    At least in this trying time, she can take comfort in knowing Obamacare will provide her good healthcare.

  49. 49.

    janesays

    @debbie: John Kyl was already appointed to that seat a month or so ago. It will be on the ballot in a special election in 2020 (Kyl has already said he won’t be running), and then again in 2022 when it would normally be up.

  50. 50.

    janesays

    Nevermind, I see now that Kyl may wind up resigning the seat in January, in which case McSally is likely to be appointed to serve until the special election in 2020.

  51. 51.

    debbie

    @janesays:

    They seem a bit election happy. They should have had one, either a couple weeks ago or when they vote in spring, instead of two in 2020 and 2022.

  54. 54.

    James E Powell

    @Ben Cisco:

    I guess Flake finally took a stand on SOMETHING.

    It’s not a stand unless he is risking something or what he does matters. With Flake, it’s all just wind.

  56. 56.

    Achrachno

    @Mandarama: If appointed I wonder if McSally will turn out to be like Flake — talks nice but ends up voting with the creeps out of pure weakness. From the clip she seems like a reasonable person at heart — straight wing nuts cannot talk like that.

  57. 57.

    AThornton

    If I’ve got my info correct there were 13 undeclared seats this morning. 3 have gone Dem and 2 GOP leaving 8. According to 538 Dems are favored in 6 and the GOP in 2.

    All in all it looks like the Dems final tally could be over 40 seats

  61. 61.

    Mai Naem mobile

    I am not sure why everybody is assuming McSally is going to be appointed to the seat. If I was Ducey I would find a Hispanic Republican to fill the seat or even Cindy McCain if shes interested. McSally lost the race for crying out loud. If Ducey or a Mormon is not on the 2020 POTUS ticket, I think the Dems have decent chance of flipping McCain’s seat.

  62. 62.

    Yutsano

    @Geoboy: If Espy somehow wins Mississippi that leaves Yertle with 50/50 if I’m not mistaken. Which would have made this a total disaster for the Republicans if Nelson somehow pulls it off as well.

  63. 63.

    Duane

    Just saw the picture of Baraboo High School boys throwing the nazi salute at their prom. Bunch of idiots. This wasn’t considered okay before Trumpov came along.
    It’s time to flat out call the republicans nazis. Label them with it. Make them deny it. Those boys are the face of republican youth. Own it republicans, you made it.

  64. 64.

    Mandarama

    @Ken:

    Talk about low bars.

    I know… and it still took the heavy lifting of a golden to get her over it. Trump people are so wretched that I’m surprised when they love animals, I guess?
    @Achrachno:

    If appointed I wonder if McSally will turn out to be like Flake — talks nice but ends up voting with the creeps out of pure weakness.

    I’m sure… but even that would be an improvement over what we have here in TN. Freaking Lamar Alexander has had to say nasty things to placate our rude denizens, and you see how fast they excommunicated Corker. This state is crazier than I thought.

  65. 65.

    Skepticat

    @schrodingers_cat:

    WTF is happening in Maine?

    I voted for ranked choice voting specifically because of situations such as this. (That and having been stuck with the idiot LeRage after he got only 32 and then 36 percent of the vote.) It will take a while to finish counting the ranked votes (it isn’t as though anyone has experience doing it), and of course the Rethuglican is crying foul. He actually said before the election that he’d dispute it if ranked votes were necessary. I do wish they’d hurry, and I so hope Jared Golden wins. As for what’s happening in Maine, that’s always a good and perplexing question.

  66. 66.

    Raoul

    So, at most, the GOP goes from 51 seats to 53 seats, in a cycle where structurally they should have gotten to what, 56? Maybe 57?

    It may not look like a ‘blue wave’ but it was a pretty solid showing, even if we net lost two seats.

  67. 67.

    Amir Khalid

    @Duane:
    Half a century ago, the Republican party began selling out to Confederate diehards. Now they’re selling out to fascists and tyrants.

  69. 69.

    cain

    @cain:

    @trollhattan:
    If we encourage Amazon to show up there, it’ll turn Blue.

    Nevermind, it seems that Amazon has picked New York and N. Virginia as their 2nd headquarters. May God have Mercy on their souls.

  70. 70.

    janesays

    @Yutsano: Incorrect – the GOP is already guaranteed 51 seats, regardless of what happens in Florida and Mississippi. The best case (and extremely unlikely) scenario for Democrats has the senate at 51-49 GOP, if the Democrats pick up Mississippi and hold Florida. Far more likely that we’ll have a 53-47 senate than a 51-49, though.

    Still, when you take into account the Doug Jones win last year, it means the Republicans will start the next Congress with only one more senator than they started the current congress (52-48 before Jones won Alabama).

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