After seeing a double-digit lead over Republican rival Blake Masters ShrinkSenator Mark Kelly, received some support Wednesday as election officials continued to tally the votes.
Kerry’s dominance dwindled to mid-single digits on Wednesday as he virtually dominated the U.S. Senate on election day, with votes still uncounted on Election Day.
He added about 7,000 more votes to Reid on Wednesday night after Maricopa County officials announced a tally of about 60,000 votes.
Unofficial results showed Arizona Democrat Kelly leading by about 18 points in early voting. But in the polls cast at the polls, the Masters had a nearly 38-point lead over Kerry in the votes tallied by Wednesday morning.
Maricopa County officials said there are about 340,000 ballots that have not yet been counted. Both sides claimed they were on their way to victory in a race that resembled the toss-up many predicted on the final day of the campaign.
Election coverage: Live poll update | | Arizona Election Results
Masters pulled away from Kerry’s lead by a wide margin, but a noticeable gap remains between Masters’ endorsement and Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake, who nearly caught Democrat Katie Hobbs.
As of mid-morning, Lake had 303,000 votes to 293,000 for the Masters.
This 10,000 vote difference is about double the difference Hobbes was running behind Kelly.
Another complication for the Masters is that they still have support for libertarian Mark Victor. Mark Victor withdrew from the race in the final week, asking supporters to back the Masters.
In early voting, Victor received support from more than 2% of voters. In Election Day polls, he was still collecting about 1.7%.
Although the numbers are small, the Masters may already have more than 7,000 votes, and thousands of votes could decide the outcome.
The race takes on even more importance as Senate control appears to hinge on the results of Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.
In Nevada, Republican Senator Adam Laxalt edged Nevada Democratic Senator Katherine Cortez Masto early Wednesday morning.
In Georgia, Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock also had a slight lead over Republican Herschel Walker, but election officials say neither man looks likely to win a majority.
Please contact reporter Ronald J. Hansen at [email protected] or 602-444-4493. follow him on twitter @ronaldjhansen.
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This article originally appeared in the Republic of Arizona. Senator Mark Kelly Leads Blake Masters in Arizona Election