PHOENIX 鈥 The latest batch of votes counted Monday put 蜜柚直播鈥檚 open U.S. Senate seat out of the reach of Republican Rep. Martha McSally and into the hands of Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
Sinema will be the first 蜜柚直播 Democrat in the U.S. Senate since 1994 and the first woman ever elected to represent the Grand Canyon State in that chamber. She won the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.
McSally conceded Monday and Sinema declared victory after new results showed the Democrat鈥檚 lead statewide is now approaching 38,200 votes.
Sinema got another big boost from Pima County, where she is continuing to pick up four votes for every three for McSally.
And Sinema鈥檚 vote edge in what is supposed to be Republican Maricopa County also stretched to 45,000 out of nearly 1.3 million votes tallied so far. That includes nearly 29,000 for Green Party contender Angela Green, who dropped out several days before Election Day.
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There are now only about 175,000 votes left to be counted. Most of those 鈥 about 143,000 鈥 are in Maricopa County, where the numbers from the early ballots that are still being counted have so far broken Sinema鈥檚 way.
In fact, to make up Sinema鈥檚 lead, McSally would have had to pick up close to three of each of the Maricopa County votes that remain to be counted for every two cast for the Democrat.
McSally, in a video released online, congratulated Sinema on her victory and the fact she will be the first woman the state has sent to the Senate.
鈥淚 wish her all success as she represents 蜜柚直播 in the Senate,鈥 said McSally, 52, a 蜜柚直播an who has represented a Southern 蜜柚直播 congressional district in the U.S. House while Sinema has represented a Phoenix-area district.
Congrats to . I wish her success. I鈥檓 grateful to all those who supported me in this journey. I鈥檓 inspired by 蜜柚直播ns鈥 spirit and our state鈥檚 best days are ahead of us.
鈥 McSally For Senate (@MarthaMcSally)
鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to all those who supported me in this journey. I鈥檓 inspired by 蜜柚直播ns鈥 spirit, and our state鈥檚 best days are ahead of us,鈥 McSally continued.
The outcome of the race also means that this will be the first time in five decades that 蜜柚直播 has sent more Democrats to Washington than Republicans. The last time was in 1967, when Democrat Carl Hayden was one of the state鈥檚 two senators and two of the three House seats 蜜柚直播 had at the time were held by Democrats.
With Ann Kirkpatrick taking the congressional seat that McSally gave up to run for the Senate, 蜜柚直播 will have five Democrats in the U.S. House versus four Republicans. And even with Jon Kyl remaining in the Senate 鈥 or whomever Gov. Doug Ducey will appoint should Kyl quit in January 鈥 having Sinema as the other senator means a 6-5 delegation.
Sinema, in her speech Monday night to supporters, thanked McSally. But she also took a slap of sorts at the campaign McSally and her allies waged against her.
As long as I鈥檝e served 蜜柚直播, I鈥檝e worked to help others see our common humanity & find common ground. That鈥檚 the same approach I鈥檒l take to representing our great state in the Senate, where I鈥檒l be an independent voice for all 蜜柚直播ns.
鈥 Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema)
Thank you, 蜜柚直播. Let鈥檚 get to work.
鈥溍坭种辈s had a choice between two very different ways forward, one focused on fear and party politics, and one focused on 蜜柚直播 and the issues that matter to everyday families,鈥 she said.
鈥溍坭种辈 rejected what has become far too common in our country: name calling, petty personal attacks, doing and saying whatever it takes just to get elected. It鈥檚 dangerous and it lessens who we are as a country,鈥 Sinema said.
The Associated Press reports the contest drew more than $90 million in spending, including more than $58 million by outside groups, according to Federal Election Commission reports, and attack ads by both sides clogged the airwaves for months.

Kyrsten Sinema鈥檚 victory in 蜜柚直播鈥檚 Senate race over Martha McSally may not be the end of McSally鈥檚 Senate aspirations. A permanent replacement to fill the late Sen. John McCain鈥檚 seat has yet to be named.
Much of the campaign waged by McSally and her allies was focused on who Sinema, now 42, was years ago when she was known for her protests against the war in Iraq. Those moves came back to haunt her in this year鈥檚 race, linking her to a pamphlet that suggested U.S. soldiers were committing war crimes against civilians.
McSally even charged during the sole debate between the two that comments Sinema made in a radio interview amounted to 鈥渢reason.鈥
Sinema, meanwhile, condemned McSally鈥檚 vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
The senator-elect has a law degree, worked as a social worker and was a political activist in her 20s.
Her first major campaign was an unsuccessful bid for the Legislature in 2002 under the Green Party banner. She came in fifth in the five-way race.
Two years later she was elected as a Democrat from a central Phoenix legislative district, often championing liberal causes.
There was a slow but deliberate shift to the center as Sinema eyed a tossup congressional seat created after the 2010 census, which she managed to win in 2012.
In her six years in Congress, Sinema built one of the most centrist records in the Democratic caucus.
To win the Senate seat, she needed to win votes from independents and cross-over Republicans, while McSally stressed her ties to President Trump.
In her victory speech Monday night, Sinema gave a nod to the late John McCain, saying she models herself after his independence.
McSally鈥檚 loss may not mean the end of her political career.
The first female Air Force pilot in combat, she lost her first political outing in 2012 when she attempted to defeat Democrat Ron Barber. He had been appointed to the congressional seat that Gabrielle Giffords, his fellow Democrat, had to step away from after being shot.
But McSally came back two years later to take the seat from Barber.
And there may be a U.S. Senate seat open sooner rather than later.
After McCain鈥檚 death this summer, Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Kyl, a former senator, to McCain鈥檚 seat, where he can serve until the 2020 election.
But Kyl has hinted he might quit before then, giving Ducey a chance to appoint another replacement who, like McCain and Kyl, must be a Republican.