November 3, 2020 / Modified nov 3, 2020 11:56 p.m.

Mark Kelly leads Martha McSally in initial results

Kelly claimed victory Tuesday night. McSally said the race was not over.

mcsally-kelly-senate Martha McSally, left, and Mark Kelly.
Gage Skidmore/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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The fight for the win in the closely watched Arizona Senate seat is ongoing, though the Democrat claimed victory Tuesday night as results were coming in.

Democrat Mark Kelly jumped to an early lead in the race against Republican Martha McSally. As more votes came in, he kept his lead and claimed victory in the race while also calling for unity at a watch party in Tucson.

"Some of you watching tonight did not vote for me. That's OK. I'm going to be your senator, too, because our state doesn't need a Democrat or a Republican senator, we need an Arizona senator. A senator like John McCain," Kelly said.

Kelly and McSally are running to fill the remainder of the late Sen. McCain's term. Despite Kelly's speech, McSally wasn't ready to concede. As Kelly wrapped up his speech, a McSally campaign spokesperson issued a statement saying the decision to make a call in the race is irresponsible with so many votes still to be counted.

In 2018, it took six days for the U.S. Senate race in Arizona to be decided.

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