State officials say there are about 450,000 votes still to be counted in Arizona, a Western presidential battleground state, where Democrat Joe Biden has a 2.35 percentage point lead over Republican Donald Trump, an advantage of about 68,000 votes.
The Associated Press has called the race in Arizona for Biden. The AP said Thursday it is monitoring the vote count in the state as ballots continued to be tallied.
βThe Associated Press continues to watch and analyze vote count results from Arizona as they come in,β said Sally Buzbee, APβs executive editor. βWe will follow the facts in all cases.β
The vast majority of the ballots still being counted are from Maricopa County, the most populous area of the state. The next update from elections officials in Arizona is expected about 7 p.m. Tucson time.
The Trump campaign says it is confident the president will overtake Biden when all votes in the state are tallied.
The AP called the race in Arizona for Biden at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday after an analysis of ballots cast statewide concluded Trump could not catch up in the ballots left to be counted.
Arizona has a long political history of voting Republican. Itβs the home state of Barry Goldwater, a five-term, conservative senator who was the Republican nominee for president in 1964. John McCain, the partyβs 2008 presidential nominee, represented the state in Congress from 1983 until his 2018 death.
But changing demographics, including a fast-growing Latino population and a boom of new residents β some fleeing the skyrocketing cost of living in neighboring California β have made the state friendlier to Democrats.
Many of the gains have been driven by the shifting politics of Maricopa County, which is home to Phoenix and its suburbs. Maricopa County accounts for 60% of the stateβs vote, and Biden leads there by 4.2 percentage points in votes that have already been tabulated.
Election 2020: Here's what Southern Arizona races look like so far
Election stories all in one place: Here's what we know so far. Follow tucson.com for live, up-to-the-minute election coverage.
This collection will be updated.
LIVE COVERAGE:Β The latest: Arizona, Pima County 2020 election results
PHOTOS:Β Election Day in Pima County and Arizona
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Here are some election developments Thursday morning:
Arizona's unexpected role in helping to decide the presidential race continuedΒ early Thursday with a narrowing race that had the whole countr…
Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes has labeled the social media conspiracy "hoo hah." And in Tucson, elections officials called the claims "false."
Just before 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press declared Tucson Democrat Mark Kelly the winner in a race that could be crucial in the fight for control of the Senate.
With a Mark Kelly win over Martha McSally, Arizona will send two Democrats to the Senate. Political scientists predict an impact that's more purple than true blue.
Propositions legalizing recreational use of marijuana and increasing taxes on wealthy to fund schools approved by Arizona voters.
The richest Arizonans may end up financing additional cash for public schools. Backers of Proposition 208 declared victory late Tuesday for their plan to levy an income tax surcharge on the top 4% of wage earners.
Current Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier said not all the votes have been counted in the race
With the measure passing, PCC can increase its base expenditure limit by more than $11 million from $19 million to nearly $31 million
Southern Arizona's three Democratic Representatives, RaΓΊl Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick and Tom O'Halleran, are all on track to return to the U.S. House.
U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick was re-elected to represent Arizona's second congressional district, which includes eastern Pima County.
U.S. Rep. RaΓΊl Grijalva, D-Tucson, won his 10th congressional term after cruising to victory in the Arizona Congressional District race.
Tom OβHalleran, a former Republican state senator who switched to the Democratic party in 2015, is seeking his third term representing Arizonaβs largest district
The office of recorder is responsible for voter registration, early voting and public record keeping of things like property transactions. It has been occupied since 1993 by Democrat F. Ann Rodriguez, who is retiring.
In the biggest shift of the night, long-time public school educator Rex Scott is in line to become the first Democrat since Ron Asta in 1972 to represent the Pima County's District 1.
Initial results showed all but one of the legislative seats likely would go to Tucson area incumbents or lawmakers trying to move between the state Senate and the state House of Representatives.Β Β
Democrat Anna Tovar is leading but Republicans have so far outpolled the other two Democrats, likely dashing hopes of a Democrat majority on the utility panel.
NewcomersΒ Natalie Luna Rose, Sadie Shaw and Ravi Grivois-Shah will likely join board member Leila Counts, who is in the middle of her first term on the board, and long-time board member Adelita Grijalva in January on the governing board for the Tucson Unified School District.
The incumbents are on track to beat newcomer Nathan Davis, an educator for three open board seats.
Callie Tippett and Allison Pratt on track to win re-election to the Vail School District governing board. Newcomer Chris King is also garnering enough votes to join the board with the other current members Claudia Anderson and Jon Aitken.Β
