Republicans positioned to hold control in both Arizona Legislature chambers
Nov 5, 2020, 10:59 AM
(Facebook Photo/Arizona Capitol Museum)
PHOENIX – Republicans are on pace to maintain their longstanding control in both chambers of the Arizona Legislature.
As of official results reported through Wednesday night, the GOP was leading 32 House races to 28 for Democrats. That would be a gain of one seat for Republicans from the last session.
In the state Senate, the GOP was up in 16 of 30 races. If that holds up, it would be a one-seat gain for Democrats.
However, enough races to flip control in both chambers remained within 2 percentage points as of the latest results.
The next batch of results from Maricopa County, the state’s largest county and the site of several tight races, is expected at 7 p.m. Thursday.
But if the results hold up, it would be a disappointing outcome in an otherwise strong election for Arizona Democrats. The Associated Press has projected Arizona’s top races in Democrats’ favor, with Mark Kelly toppling GOP Sen. Martha McSally and Joe Biden taking the state’s 11 electoral votes in the presidential contest.
The last time Democrats held an Arizona chamber was 1992, when the party controlled the Senate. In 2001-02, the Senate was split evenly.