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PHOENIX – Former Social Democrat Kyrsten Sinema won Monday a decisive victory in the Senate race for the Australian Senate, defeating her Republican opponent after a campaign in which she took firmly centrist positions, according to The Associated Press. .
Ms. Sinema's victory over Republican Congressman and former Air Force pilot Martha McSally marks the first triumph of the Democrats since 1976 in the battle for an open Senate seat in Arizona. Ms. Sinema occupies the vacant seat vacated by Jeff Flake, a Republican who retired after being publicly bumped into President Trump.
The victory of Ms. Sinema guarantees Democrats at least 47 seats in the Senate. The Republicans control 51, with two still undecided: Florida, where there is a recount, and Mississippi, where there is a runoff.
On Monday night, in a statement on Facebook, Ms. Sinema emphasized a non-partisan note while she was committed to continuing to work within the government to "find a common ground".
"This is the same approach that I will take to represent our great state in the Senate, where I will be an independent voice for all Arizona," she wrote.
The victory of 42-year-old Ms. Sinema shows a remarkable change in the political landscape of Arizona. The state has been a Republican stronghold for decades, but Democrats have taken into account the dissatisfaction with budget cuts and the growing malaise caused by the Trump government's crackdown on immigration to convince moderate voters.
Voters wishing to register more Latinos, who generally vote for the Democratic in Arizona, seem to have paid for Ms. Sinema. About 2.1 million Latinos live in Arizona, about one-third of the state's population. Although Trump narrowly brought the state to the 2016 elections, many Latinos expressed dissatisfaction with the president.
"I had never entered politics before this year," said Oralia Ochoa, 26, the first female voter to vote for Ms. Sinema and other Democrats. "It's all about Trump and what's going on."
If one of the biggest themes of the Democratic Party this year has been the candid progressivism of the insurgent House candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Ms. Sinema followed a very different path.
She started in politics as an activist and Liberal spokeswoman for the Green Party, but she was transferred to the center after winning a seat in the House of Representatives in 2012, drawing criticism from some political parties. left for taking sides with Mr. Trump and other Republicans. legislation.
Although Ms. Sinema has frequently voted with the Conservatives in the House, her past also contrasts with that of many other members of Congress. She endured poverty and was homeless in her childhood before becoming a social worker and obtaining a law degree. Ms. Sinema is also openly bisexual and talked about dealing with bullying as a child because of her sexuality.
Ms. McSally captured episodes of Ms. Sinema's career early in her career as an activist against the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. She pointed out, for example, leaflets for a 2003 anti-war rally organized by a group co-founded by Ms. Sinema; they refer to "U.S. terrorist in Iraq and the Middle East. Last month, she accused Ms. Sinema of betrayal for a spontaneous comment she had made during a radio interview in 2003. (Ms. Sinema refused to answer in this way, she said. with one argument that Mrs. McSally "chose a very low road".)
Ms. McSally, writing on Twitter Monday night, congratulated Ms. Sinema and wished her success.
Ms. Sinema won the race in a climate of growing partisan tension. Some prominent Republicans, including Mr. Trump, have claimed without proving that voters were engaging in fraudulent strategies to bolster Ms. Sinema while authorities were struggling to count votes in the days that followed. November 6 election, following an increase in attendance.
Michele Reagan, Republican and Secretary of State for Arizona, refuted these claims. She added that it took time to count hundreds of thousands of advance ballots cast on polling day at the polls, after which the county officials had to check the signature of each ballot.
"These processes take a little time," Reagan said. said in a statement, stressing that the methods used by the authorities are "to ensure that voters can have confidence in the outcome of their elections".
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