Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., leads Republican Kari Lake in early returns in a key Senate race Republicans hoped might expand an expected Senate majority.
Gallego expressed confidence when he spoke to Democrats on Tuesday night in Phoenix, though the race remained too early to call early Wednesday.
"We had a mantra on this campaign: Go everywhere and talk to everyone," Gallego said. "And that’s exactly what we did. We didn't take one vote for granted."
In a break with tradition, Lake and the Arizona Republican Party did not hold an election night party. She posted about results in the presidential race and shared complaints from others about the pace of vote counting in Maricopa County but did not say anything about her own race.
The winner of the Senate race will replace Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., whose 2018 victory as a Democrat created a formula that the party has successfully replicated since.
Sinema left the Democratic Party two years ago after she antagonized the party's left wing. She considered running for a second term as an independent but bowed out when it was clear she had no clear path to victory.
Gallego maintained a significant fundraising advantage throughout the race. He relentlessly attacked Lake's support for a state law dating to the Civil War that outlawed abortions under nearly all circumstances. Lake tacked to the middle on the issue, infuriating some of her allies on the right by opposing a federal abortion ban.
Gallego portrayed Lake as a liar who will do and say anything to gain power.
He downplayed his progressive voting record in Congress, leaning on his up-by-the-bootstraps personal story and his military service to build an image as a pragmatic moderate.
The son of immigrants from Mexico and Colombia, Gallego was raised in Chicago by a single mother and eventually accepted to Harvard University. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and fought in Iraq in 2005 in a unit that sustained heavy casualties, including the death of his best friend.
If elected, he would be the first Latino U.S. senator from Arizona.
Lake became a star on the populist right with her 2022 campaign for Arizona governor.
"I will accept the results of the election," Lake said.
Lake focused on border security, a potent issue for Republicans in a state that borders Mexico and saw record numbers of illegal crossings during Democrat President Joe Biden's administration. She promised a tough crackdown on illegal immigration and labeled Gallego a supporter of "open borders." She also went after his personal life, pointing to his divorce from Kate Gallego shortly before she gave birth. His ex-wife, now the mayor of Phoenix, endorsed Gallego and has campaigned with him.
Lake spent the last weeks of the campaign trying to win over voters who are backing Trump but were not sold on her.
Close to 4 in 10 Arizona voters said the economy and jobs are the top issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, a sweeping survey of more than 110,000 voters nationally, including more than 4,000 voters in Arizona. About one-quarter of Arizona voters said immigration is the most pressing issue, and about 1 in 10 named abortion.
Roughly half of Arizona's voters viewed Lake unfavorably, including about 4 in 10 who said they had a very unfavorable view of her, according to AP VoteCast. Roughly 4 in 10 voters viewed her favorably.
About half of voters held a favorable view of Gallego, and about 4 in 10 said they had a negative view of him.
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