Arizona Sen. John McCain, just 21 months from being a few percentage points from election as the next President of the United States, tonight beat back a challenge from his own party to earn his fifth Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and will likely face political neophyte Rodney Glassman who survived a four-candidate Democratic primary despite 11th hour allegations that the former Tucson City Councilman’s campaign was in disarray.
In Congressional District 8, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who had no primary challenge, will likely face Jesse Kelley who based on early results has defied expectations and won the Republican nomination over former state Sen. Jonathan Paton. Paton was considered a lock for the nomination at the start of the summer but lost ground to Kelley who ran an aggressive campaign that apparently resonated more with conservative voters.
In Congressional Dist. 7, Rep. Raul Grijalva, who also had no primary challenge, will face Republican Ruth McClung, who easily outpaced four other candidates.
Results were still coming in as of 11 p.m. and some contested races were too close to call, namely the Attorney General Republican primary where former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas held a half-percentage point lead over state schools Superintendent Tom Horne.
For complete results, go the Secretary of State’s elections website or follow the Arizona Republic’s primary election blog.