Arizona Democrat wins razor-thin Senate race
November 13, 2018
The US state of Arizona's nail-biting Senate race came to a close on Monday, when Republican candidate Martha McSally conceded to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema.
In a video on Twitter, McSally said that she'd called Sinema "and congratulated her on becoming Arizona's first female senator after a hard-fought battle."
Sinema, who will also become the first openly bisexual senator in US history, thanked her supporters in a statement posted on Twitter, pledging to "be an independent voice for all Arizonans."
She will succeed Republican Senator Jeff Flake who opted not to run for re-election.
Although the Democrats won the seat, the result does not affect Republican control of the Senate which currently stands at 51-47 with two seats still to be decided in Florida and Mississippi.
The Senate race in Arizona was one of the most closely watched in last week's US midterm elections that saw Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, while US President Donald Trump's Republicans maintained control of the Senate.
Trump calls for end to recount
Trump urged election officials in Florida to end a vote recount and declare Republican candidates the winners.
Outgoing governor Rick Scott and Republican Ron DeSantis led the races for a US Senate seat and the state's governor's office early in the vote count, but their leads narrowed as more ballots were tallied. Florida state law mandates recounts in elections where the margin of victory is within 0.5 percentage points.
Florida officials are scrambling to review more than 8 million ballots by Thursday, with districts expected to submit their official results on Sunday.
Trump cast doubt on the recount in Florida, alleging voter fraud without providing evidence.
A runoff vote for a Senate seat in Mississippi is scheduled for November 27, with Republican incumbent Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith favored to win.
rs/rc (AP, AFP, Reuters)