By Reid Urban
Arizona is finally getting its first female U.S. senator.
Democrat Krysten Sinema rode a wave of Maricopa County voters, as well as voters from her opponent Martha McSally’s congressional district in Tucson, to give her the edge and the eventual win for the Arizona U.S. Senate seat that was being vacated by Jeff Flake.
The Associated Press called the race for Sinema Monday night and McSally ceded, tweeting congratulations to Sinema.
Sinema will become the first woman in the state’s 106-year history to take a seat in the U.S. Senate.
So how did Sinema manage to win? She played towards the moderate Republican voters, the independent voters, and the suburban women, who were anxious about the polarizing politics in the era of President Donald Trump. That gave her the advantage in the urban areas of Arizona. It was too great for McSally to make up.
Sinema maintained that lead on Monday and grew even more with the latest batch of early ballots. With that, she defeated the Republicans’ hopes of maintaining the seat.
