Democratic Senator Mark Kelly won reelection in Arizona, defeating Republican Blake Masters, who was seen as a strong pick-up opportunity for the Republican Party.
Retaining Kerry’s seat marks an important victory for the Democrats to maintain control of the Senate.
Former astronaut and husband Kelly Gabby Giffords, came to Washington in 2020 after winning a special election to fill out the remainder of the term of the late Senator John McCain (Republican). For months he led in the polls, but the competition tightened significantly in the final days before Election Day.
A 36-year-old venture capitalist who spent most of his career working for billionaire Peter Thiel, Masters focuses on topics popular among the far right, including critical race theory and bashing Big Tech. developed a rebellion against Endorsement by former President Donald Trump helped the Masters win a crowded Republican primary.
But Master’s libertarian side Record and rightmost position considered a stumbling block in his campaign. While some Republicans have taken a more cautious path, Masters declared his support for a nationwide abortion ban this summer after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned federal abortion rights. And he repeated Trump’s false claim that Joe Biden lost the 2020 presidential election.
Nonetheless, Masters caught the attention of voters concerned with high inflation and crime, one of the biggest themes of Republican advertising this election cycle.
By touting his support for Democratic legislation that would bring down the cost of prescription drugs and highlighting the past support of opponents of Social Security privatization, Kelly launched an attack on rising inflation and a high cost of living. He also shed a little light between himself and Democratic leadership on immigration issues. call The situation on the southern border is ‘chaos’ and ‘chaos’.
Later in the race, Kelly attended campaign events for several members of the McCain family, highlighting his appeal to both independent and Republican voters.
Still, Kelly has never been more of a thorn on his party’s side than Arizona Democratic Senator Kirsten Cinema, who has no plans for re-election until 2024. It accepted the progressive priorities it opposed, raising it to $15 and reforming the Senate filibuster rule.
Kerry was one of the most popular Democratic candidates for the Senate this year. At least when it comes to fundraising.he entered october together About 6 times the amount of cash on hand As a Master, he had raised over $52 million in total to that point, while Masters brought in just under $5 million. As a result, an outside Republican group was forced to step in and bail out Masters.
This article originally appeared on huff post and updated.