Year: 2018

Preliminary Results Arizona Federal Candidates 2018

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The U.S. Senate race is too close to call, but Rep. Martha McSally currently holds more than a 14,000 vote lead over Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. Green Party candidate Angela Green, who withdrew days before the election, received more votes than the margin between McSally and Sinema (who was a Green before she was a Democrat). Sort of ironic.

There are reportedly over 500,000 ballots yet to be be verified and counted. It’s going to be awhile (and it could be close enough for a recount).

The House races have all been called. Democrats picked up the open CD 2 seat with Ann Kirkpatrick’s win in Southern Arizona, and Greg Stanton held the open seat in CD 9 for Democrats in Maricopa County. All the incumbents were reelected along party lines.

Current estimated voter turnout is 46.67%. When more than half of registered voters cannot take the time to fill out a ballot — not including the large number of eligible voting age persons not registered to vote — the health of our democracy is in serious jeopardy. You have to do better Arizona!

(These are the overnight numbers.)

U.S. Senate (open)

Martha McSally (R)        847,021
Kysten Sinema (D)          832,441
Angela Green (GRN)         38,476
–Too close to call

Congressional District 1

Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D)   53.3% ✔︎
Wendy Rogers (R)               46.7%

Congressional District 2

Ann Kirkpatrick (D)            53.3% ✔︎
Lea Marquez Peterson (R) 46.7%

Congressional District 3

Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D)       61.4% ✔︎
Nicolas Pierson (R)            38.6%

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AZ General Election 2018 results – updated

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Lots of Arizona statewide races to report on, so the simplest way now is to just check the Arizona Sec. of State’s website for the latest results/updates:

www.azsos.gov

Leading – all Republicans for these Arizona statewide races:

Governor, Sec. of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Corporation Commission (2 seats), State Mine Inspector. (Incumbents in these races: Governor, AG, one Corporation Commissioner, Mine Inspector.)  Voter turnout was 46.8%

One to watch is Superintendent of Public Instruction (too close to call):

Kathy Hoffman (D)   830,676

Frank Riggs (R)   837,396

U.S. Senate seat (Jeff Flake stepping down)

Martha McSally (R)  850,043

Krysten Sinema (D)  834,135

CD 1:

Tom O’Halleran (D incumbent)   111,854

Wendy Rogers (R) 97,929

CD 2:

Ann Kirkpatrick (D)  125,349

Lea Marquez Peterson  (R)  109,759

CD 3:

Raul Grijalva (D incumbent)  78,308

Nick Pierson (R)  49,331

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Does Martha McSally have a Plan B?

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Arizona voters will decide the successor to Senator Jeff Flake today between Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally.

But Arizona voters will have no say in who is the successor to Senator John McCain. That may occur as soon as December or January with the new Congress.

This decision belongs to the governor of Arizona, and former Senator Jon Kyl, who was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey as a “temporary” successor to Sen. McCain.

Sen. Kyl does not sound like a man who is contemplating staying past the current congressional term. The Arizona Republic recently reported, Sen. Jon Kyl hesitant to discuss his Senate service past 2018:

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl was hesitant to say this week whether he will continue to serve in the Senate past the end of the year.

Kyl, R-Arizona, returned to the Senate in September, following the death of long-serving U.S. Sen. John McCain, who died Aug. 25 after a 13-month battle with brain cancer.

Kyl agreed to serve at least through the end of the year, although the governor said he hoped Kyl would seriously consider serving until a special election is held in 2020 to fill the rest of McCain’s term, which ends in 2022.

Kyl on Wednesday appeared non-committal about a future in the Senate during an interview with The Arizona Republic after a tour of Phoenix food bank with U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Rep. Martha McSally, a Senate hopeful.

“It’s not for any lack of interest, and it’s certainly an incredible honor to go back to work for the people of Arizona,” he said. “You see from a group of people like this how great they are to work with and to represent. But I have family needs, as well, and so, we’ll decide what to do at that point. I’ll talk to the governor.”

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Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride

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Today’s mid-term elections results are only the beginning of what is likely to be a tumultuous month of November.

It’s going to be a wild ride.

Buckle up and remain seated with hands, arms, feet and legs inside the vehicle at all times.

I previously gave you a heads up about The constitutional crisis coming after Election Day.

There is going to be a purge in the Trump administration which is likely to begin with the Department of Justice. The Washington Post reports, Trump administration prepares for massive shake-up after midterms:

The Trump administration is bracing for a massive staff shake-up in the weeks following the midterm elections, as the fates of a number of Cabinet secretaries and top White House aides are increasingly uncertain heading into a potentially perilous time for President Trump.

Some embattled officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, are expected to be fired or actively pushed out by Trump after months of bitter recriminations. Others, notably Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, may leave amid a mutual recognition that their relationship with the president has become too strained. And more still plan to take top roles on Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign or seek lucrative jobs in the private sector after nearly two years in government.

The expected midterm exodus would bring fresh uncertainty and churn to a White House already plagued by high turnover and internal chaos.

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The GOP’s ‘voter fraud’ fraud is illegal voter intimidation

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Voter intimidation is a crime. 18 U.S. Code § 594 – Intimidation of voters.

And yet President Donald Trump and his soon-to-be former Confederate Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III are openly engaging in the crime of voter intimidation, for the first time ever in American history. Without evidence, Trump and Sessions warn of voter fraud in Tuesday’s elections:

President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday issued strong warnings about the threat of voter fraud in Tuesday’s elections, echoing the president’s baseless claims that massive voter fraud marred his 2016 election and prompting accusations that his administration is trying to intimidate voters.

In a tweet early Monday, Trump said that law enforcement has been “strongly notified” to watch for “ILLEGAL VOTING.” He promised that anyone caught voting improperly would be subjected to “Maximum Criminal Penalties.”

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Sessions, in a statement laying out the Justice Department’s plans to monitor ballot access on Election Day, said “fraud in the voting process will not be tolerated. Fraud also corrupts the integrity of the ballot.”

In remarks to reporters on his way to a campaign rally in Cleveland, Trump also falsely claimed that voter fraud is commonplace.

“Just take a look,” he said. “All you have to do is go around, take a look at what’s happened over the years, and you’ll see. There are a lot of people — a lot of people — my opinion, and based on proof — that try and get in illegally and actually vote illegally. So we just want to let them know that there will be prosecutions at the highest level.”

There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States. Trump formed a commission to study the issue shortly after he took office that was disbanded without finding evidence of fraud after states refused to turn over voter data.

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