Wins For Democrats At Top Of Arizona Ticket Didn't Translate Far Down Ballot

By Tom Maxedon
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
Published: Sunday, November 8, 2020 - 2:45pm
Updated: Monday, November 9, 2020 - 7:23am

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Joe Biden and Kamala Harris
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Arizona has delivered its 11 Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

But, wins for Democrats at the top of the ticket didn’t translate very far down the ballot.

Democratic state party Chair Felecia Rotellini said in a prepared statement Saturday: "We are a part of the broadest coalition ever assembled by a Democratic presidential nominee in Arizona. We built the kind of team we needed to succeed.''

Rotellini also boasted about Arizona having two Democratic U.S. senators from Arizona, something that hasn't occurred in more than half a century  — when Harry Truman was president. Mark Kelly defeated Martha McSally to win the Senate seat she got last year from Gov. Ducey that used to belong to former Sen. John McCain.

Mark Kelly and Martha McSally
Mark Kelly for Senate, McSally for Senate
Mark Kelly and Martha McSally.

"I think we held our own,'' she told Capitol Media Services on Saturday. "I will agree that we weren't as successful as we thought we would be and that means we need to go back and recalibrate, study the data, and see where we excelled and where we could have had opportunities but didn't,'' Rotellini said.

Kelly, however, gets just the last two years of McCain's original term before he has to seek reelection in 2022.

None of the Democratic contenders were able to unseat Republicans in the U.S. House. That includes Rep. David Schweikert in the 6th District, who was fined $50,000 for multiple ethics violations.

David Schweikert
Office of Rep. David Schweikert
David Schweikert

Democratic hopes of taking the state House — or even picking up a single seat to get a 30-30 tie — also did not materialize.

While Democrat Judy Schwiebert did manage to pick up a House seat in Legislative District 20, ousting incumbent Republican Anthony Kern of Glendale, that gain was offset by the loss of Democrat Gerae Peten who was defeated by Republican newcomer Joel John in Legislative District 4 in the district that runs from the western suburbs of Phoenix to Yuma.

Arizona Republicans are still hoping to pull out a win for President Donald Trump, whether or not it ends up mattering on a national level — and even if it takes going to court.

Attorneys for the Trump reelection committee and the state and national Republican parties filed suit Saturday contending that procedures used in Maricopa County resulted in the choices of some voters not being tallied. They want a judge to bar the election results from being certified until certain disputed ballots are reviewed.

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