2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona information
Election of US Senator Mark Kelly
See also: 2020 United States Senate elections
2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona
← 2016
November 3, 2020
2022 →
Nominee
Mark Kelly
Martha McSally
Party
Democratic
Republican
Popular vote
1,716,467
1,637,661
Percentage
51.16%
48.81%
County results
Congressional districts results
Precinct results
Kelly: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% McSally: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80-90% >90% Tie: 50% No data
U.S. senator before election
Martha McSally[a]
Republican
Elected U.S. Senator
Mark Kelly
Democratic
Elections in Arizona
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v
t
e
The 2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona was held on November 3, 2020, following the death in office of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain on August 25, 2018. Governor Doug Ducey was required by Arizona law to appoint a Republican to fill the vacant seat until a special election winner could be sworn in.[1][2] On September 5, 2018, Ducey appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to fill McCain's seat. However, Kyl announced he would resign on December 31, 2018.[3]
On December 18, 2018, Ducey announced that outgoing U.S. Representative Martha McSally would be appointed to fill the seat following Kyl's resignation.[4] McSally was sworn in as the state's junior U.S. Senator on January 3, 2019, less than two months after she was defeated by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema for Arizona's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat.[5] McSally ran to complete the term, defeating skincare executive Daniel McCarthy in the Republican primary. She faced former astronaut Mark Kelly,[6] who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. Primary elections took place on August 4, 2020.[7]
Once a reliably Republican state, Arizona trended more purple in the late 2010s. Kelly significantly outraised McSally and led by about 5% in the average poll leading up to Election Day.
Kelly defeated McSally by a margin of 2.4% on election night, thereby flipping the seat Democratic. As a result, he outperformed Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election, who defeated President Donald Trump by a margin of 0.3% in the state, but underperformed his polling average. Kelly became the first Democrat to win the Class 3 Senate seat since Carl Hayden won his last term in 1962.[8] This also marked the first time since the 82nd Congress preceding the 1952 election that Democrats held both Senate seats in Arizona.
Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^"What happens next to John McCain's Senate seat". Politico. August 25, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
^"Who could be appointed to replace John McCain in the Senate, and the process behind it, explained". Vox. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
^Sanchez, Yvonne Wingett (December 14, 2018). "Jon Kyl will resign from the U.S. Senate on Dec. 31, setting up another appointment by Ducey to John McCain's seat". Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
^Sanchez, Yvonne Wingett; Hansen, Ronald J. (December 18, 2018). "Martha McSally will be appointed to John McCain's Senate seat". Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
^Sinema defeats McSally in Arizona Senate race – CNN Video, November 13, 2018, retrieved April 16, 2020
^Amber Phillips (September 16, 2020), "The Senate seats most likely to flip in November", The Washington Post, archived from the original on September 16, 2020
^"United States Senate special election in Arizona, 2020 (August 4 Democratic primary)". ballotpedia.org. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
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