PHOENIX -- Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won Arizona's open U.S. Senate seat Monday in a race that was among the most closely watched in the nation, beating Republican Rep. Martha McSally in the battle to replace GOP Sen. Jeff Flake.
McSally conceded in a video posted to Twitter, saying that she congratulated Sinema "on becoming Arizona's first female senator after a hard-fought battle."
Sinema, a three-term member of Congress, won after a slow vote count that dragged on for nearly a week after voters went to the polls on Nov. 6. She becomes Arizona's first Democratic U.S. senator since 1994.
Sinema portrayed herself as a moderate who works across the aisle to get things done, and she voted for bills backed by President Donald Trump more than 60 percent of the time.
She replaces Flake, an outspoken critic of Trump who announced in 2017 that he would not seek re-election, acknowledging he could not win a GOP primary in the current political climate.
The contest between Sinema and McSally drew more than $90 million in spending, including more than $58 million by outside groups, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
A Section on 11/13/2018