She was defeated by Democrat Mark Kelly, turning both of the state's Senate seats blue.
Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) lost her bid in a Senate special election to serve out the remainder of the late-Sen. John McCain's term — making it the second time in two years that McSally has lost a Senate contest in the state.
McSally lost to Democrat Mark Kelly, taking 46.6% to Kelly's 53.4%, with 82% of precincts reporting, according to the New York Times.
McSally's bid wasn't a reelection effort, despite the fact that she held the seat.
That's because two years ago, McSally lost the Senate seat vacated by now-former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ).
Despite losing the race, Arizona's Republican governor appointed McSally to the seat left vacant after McCain died — allowing her to serve despite the fact that Arizona voters rejected her candidacy.
Now, she's lost again, helping turn both of Arizona's Senate seats blue — something that hasn't happened since 1953.
McSally, for her part, lost after fully embracing Donald Trump, voting with him 94% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.
Yet despite her support for Trump — who also lost the state, according to the Associated Press — she refused to say whether she was proud to back him.
McSally also voted to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, infamously saying in a closed-door Republican Caucus meeting when she served in the House that Republicans should repeal this "fucking thing" in a pep talk.
In the Senate race this cycle against Kelly, McSally also smeared Kelly for supporting his wife's gun control group. Kelly's wife is Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was shot in the head in an assassination attempt in 2011 but survived — going on to launch a group that backs responsible gun laws.
Ultimately, McSally's loss is an embarrassment for her and the GOP, which painted her as a "rising star" in the party as it sought to appeal to women voters.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
