Hey, Arizona!

I’ve got a favor to ask before jumping into today’s newsletter. I spent Election Day driving between polling locations, talking to clerks and voters, and bringing readers along for the ride. My editors and I stayed up past midnight to watch your ballots get counted. We do it for the love of the game, but we can’t keep it up without your support. Would you chip in to help Votebeat raise $8,000 by Dec. 31? If you donate any amount, you’ll become a member for the entire year and get access to exclusive members-only events. 

Now, onto today’s updates!

Most voters tend to think of our state as being purple. But there’s a contingent of pollsters who for years have told me it’s actually red with blue spots, a description that makes it sound a little like a bumbling, imaginary monster from a kid’s storybook.

On Election Day, our state got a hell of a lot more blue spots.

Voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Republicans up and down the ballot on Tuesday. Democrats held on to top state positions, with Gov. Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, and Attorney General Kris Mayes sailing to second terms. Democrat Amish Shah won Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, which covers the northeastern Phoenix metro and was expected to be one of the most competitive districts in the country. Democrat Joanna Mendoza was similarly victorious in Arizona’s 6th District, which covers southeastern Arizona and was also considered competitive.

The trend held even further down the ballot. For instance, voters ousted Maricopa County Clerk Jeff Dial, a Republican, in favor of Democrat Seb Matta, 19, who admitted to a reporter with the Arizona Republic that he had fully expected to lose.

So, is our state now perhaps blue with red spots? There’s still some undecided races that might help answer that question.

That includes three congressional districts — Arizona’s 2nd, 5th, and 8th — that were generally considered safe seats for Republicans. The blue wave has unexpectedly turned some of them competitive.

There’s also the matter of the Arizona Legislature. As of this morning, Democrats were leading in 37 of 60 seats in the House of Representatives, and 20 of 30 seats in the Senate.

Meanwhile, just one ballot measure remains to be called: Prop. 144. It would require mail voters to show ID to cast a ballot, among other major election changes. It is currently trailing by a little over six points statewide, but its margins have tightened considerably since election night.

At this point, it’ll likely take days of counting for any of these contests to be fully decided. Analysts will only call races when one candidate (or position, in the case of ballot measures) has a large enough lead that the uncounted votes are extremely unlikely to change the outcome of the contest, and some of these races are currently quite tight.

But whatever the outcome, this election stands to have big impacts on voting and democracy issues — particularly at the state level. Democrats are near certain to hold a trifecta with control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s office — something that hasn’t happened since 1966. That will give them huge power to reshape the mechanics of how we all vote.

I’ll have more on that next time. Tell a friend to sign up here so they don’t miss out. In the meantime, let me know what I should look into next. You can reach me anytime at [email protected].

Why? Well, chocolate melts. Nobody wants it smearing onto ballots. Deputy Elections Director Jennifer Liewer told Votebeat that hard candy and mints are an OK alternative, because they “go straight into your mouth.”

So, the message is very clear: “Please enjoy your chocolate before entering the BTC.” 🍫

Initial results began dropping around 8 p.m. on Election Day, but full results won’t be known for days. Here’s what to know about how the state counts ballots.

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