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Democrat
Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally |
Democrat
Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Martha McSally locked in tight race to
replace Jeff Flake; national correspondent William La Jeunesse reports
from Gilbert, Arizona.
U.S. Reps. Martha
McSally and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona are spending the final days of
their bid for a U.S. Senate seat locked in a statistical dead heat.
While their strategies for winning the election differ, their goal is
the same: rally last-minute undecided voters.
McSally, the
Republican, and Sinema, the Democrat, are tied at 46 percent support
among Arizona’s likely voters, according the latest Fox News Poll
released Wednesday. Both camps hope to tip the scale in their favor by
focusing on residents who did not take part in early voting.
According
to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, nearly 80 percent of the
ballots cast for the election will have been filled out before Tuesday’s
election.
“The work we're doing over these last five days is to
communicate with voters who have not turned in their early ballot,”
Sinema told reporters at a media availability at a Phoenix phone bank on
Thursday. “I'm just working hard to earn the vote and the support of
Arizona.”
McSally will spend the weekend and Monday appearing at
events hosted by the Arizona Republican Party, meaning she will often be
alongside Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, who is vying for a second term. The
Fox News Poll released Wednesday has Ducey with an 18-point lead over
Democrat David Garcia, among likely voters.
ARIZONA SENATE RACE: MCSALLY SUPPORTERS TRY CAPITALIZING OFF SINEMA'S 'CRAZY' REMARK
Unlike
McSally, Sinema has largely avoided her fellow Democrat on the campaign
trail, including at two high-profile rallies held in late October with
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the 2016 Democratic presidential
candidate.
While Sinema's record in the Arizona state Senate
strongly leans left, she has moved closer to the center since beginning
her three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. She has
also supported President Trump on some issues, including backing his
$1.3 billion spending bill earlier this year.
But while Sinema’s
congressional district – Arizona’s 9th, composed of communities in
Maricopa County, east of Phoenix -- was won by Hillary Clinton in 2016
by a double-digit margin, her state has not backed a Democrat in a
presidential race since President Bill Clinton’s re-election in 1996.
While
Sinema’s bid for outgoing U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat is largely on
message with other Democrats, she has stayed away from overly partisan
rhetoric.
MCSALLY BLASTS DEM OPPONENT SINEMA: 'CHUCK SCHUMER'S TOP RECRUIT'
"Our
campaign message has been the same from day one,” Sinema told reporters
Thursday. "I'll be a voice for everyday Arizonans and I'm just working
hard to earn the vote and the support of Arizona.”
McSally,
meanwhile, has been getting help from her party at the highest levels.
President Trump held a “Make America Great Again” rally in Mesa on Oct.
19 to remind his supporters to cast ballots for the two-term
congresswoman from Tucson. McSally first won her House seat -- in
state’s 2nd Congressional District -- in the tightest race of the 2014
midterms, besting the incumbent Ron Barber by only 167 votes.
"It'll
be one of the best votes you've ever had," President Trump told the
crowd in Mesa. "I need you to get your friends, get your family, get
your neighbors, get your co-workers and get out and vote for Martha
McSally.”
KYRSTEN SINEMA GETS BOOST IN ARIZONA SENATE RACE AS GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE DROPS OUT, BACKS HER
Donald
Trump Jr. echoed his father’s push for a high Republican turnout
numbers during three events alongside McSally on Thursday in the Phoenix
area.
“We need your help, we need you to get out there,” the
younger Trump told supporters at a meet-and-greet reception. “He needs
people like Martha fighting for him.”
“The only poll that matters
is when they count up the ballots on Election Night,” McSally told FOX
News at the event. “I know the importance of making sure we get to every
last voter out there who is maybe sitting on the sidelines build
enthusiasm and make sure we get across the finish line.”