Republican Rep. Martha McSally has managed to overcome divisions from Arizona’s GOP Senate primary and has taken a slight lead in the polls over her Democratic opponent, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, according to new numbers this week.
OH Predictive Insights found Ms. McSally with 49 percent support to Ms. Sinema’s 46 percent. A Gravis Marketing poll released over the weekend also found Ms. McSally with a 49-48 lead. Both are within the polls’ margins of error.
Surveys over the summer had shown Ms. Sinema, who faced only token opposition in the Democratic primary, with a lead over Ms. McSally, who survived a bruising primary with two more stridently conservative Republicans, including former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
Analysts had wondered how well she would be able to consolidate Republicans, and it appears she’s accomplished that task quickly enough.
The Arizona race is considered critical to control of the Senate, with Democrats figuring if they can flip the seat, currently held by Sen. Jeff Flake, they are well on track to net the seats required.
“With the race between Sinema and McSally heating up, this is not just the hottest race in the country — it’s a scorcher,” said OH Predictive Insights chief pollster Mike Noble.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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