With Democratic challenger Joe Biden holding onto a 9 percentage point lead (54%-46%) over President Donald Trump in Arizona, Fox News is calling Biden the winner.

Fox also is calling the U.S. Senate race for Democratic challenger Mark Kelly, who has a 10-point lead over Republican Sen. Martha McSally (55%-45%). Given that McSally was ahead on Election Night in 2018 and then went on to lose the race to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, it's not a surprise that Fox isn't expecting McSally will make a comeback in this year's election.

In heavily Republican Legislative District 11, which includes Oro Valley and Marana, as well Pinal County precincts and the town of Maricopa, Democrats are out to an early lead. Democratic challenger Joanna Mendoza had 51 percent against incumbent Sen. Vince Leach.

Meanwhile, Democratic challenger Felipe Perez had 35 percent of the vote in his race against Republican state Reps. Bret Roberts and Mark Finchem in the race for two House seats.

In Legislative District 2, which runs along with Santa Cruz River from downtown Tucson through Green Valley and Sahuarita and down to Nogales, Democrats were leading Republican candidates. In the LD2 House race, Democratic state Rep. Daniel Hernandez had 38 percent of the vote, while state Sen. Andrea Dalessandro, who is seeking to return to the House as she hit a term limit in the Senate, had 37 percent of the vote. Republican challenger Deborah McEwan had 24 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, State Rep. Rosanna Gabaldon had 64 percent of the vote against Mark Workman as she campaigned to move to the state Senate.

In Legislative District 9, which includes central Tucson, the Catalina Foothills and the Casas Adobes area, Democratic state Reps. Pamela Powers-Hannley and Rep. Randy Friese each had 38 percent of the vote against GOP challenger Brendan Lyons, who had 22 percent. Meanwhile, state Sen. Victoria Steele was unopposed.

In Legislative District 10, the Democratic slate of state Rep. Domingo DeGrazia (with 31 percent) and political newcomer Stephania Stahl Hamilton (with 30 percent) were leading the Republican slate of Michael Hicks (with 19 percent) and Mabelle Gummere (with 18 percent). Meanwhile, state Rep. Kirsten Engel had 63 percent of the vote against GOP challenger Justine Wadsack.

In westside Legislative District 3, the Democratic slate of state Reps. Andrés Cano and Alma Hernandez and state Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales were unopposed.

In the race for three seats on the Tucson Unified School District Board, the top candidates are Natalie Luna Rose (with 24 percent of the vote), Sadie Shaw (with 18 percent of the vote) and Ravi Grivois-Shah (with 18 percent of the vote). Coming up in fourth place (with 16 percent of the vote) was Adam Ragan; fifth place was Cindy Winston (with 14 percent of the vote); Joe Nicolas Pierson was in sixth place (with 10 percent of the vote).

In the race for three board seats on the Amphi School Board, the top candidates are Deanna Day (with 28 percent of the vote), Vicki Cox Golder (with 25 percent of the vote) and Scott Baker (with 23 percent of the vote). Coming up in fourth place (with 23 percent of the vote) was Nathan Davis.    

In the race for three seats on the Sunnyside School Board, the top candidates are Rebecca “Beki” Quintero (with 31 percent of the vote), Lisette Nuñez (with 28 percent of the vote) and Joaquin Nuñez (with 22 percent of the vote). Coming up in fourth place was Matthew Taylor (with 20 percent of the vote).

Pima County Community College

In the race for the District 1 seat on the Pima County Community College Governing Board, Catherine Ripley is leading with 62 percent of the vote. Ethan Orr is trailing with 38 percent of the vote.

With the first major drop of returns, it appears voters may be ready to legalize recreational use of marijuana for adults. Prop 207, which would legalize marijuana possession of up to an ounce for those 21 and older, has 60 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, Prop 208, which would raise the sales taxes on individuals who earn more than $250,000 (or $500,000 for couples filing jointly) in order to fund education programs, was leading in the early returns, with 54 percent of the vote.

In a rematch of the 2016 race, Democratic challenger Chris Nanos looked to be unseating Republican Sheriff Mark Napier, the candidate he lost to four years ago. Nanos had captured 54 percent of the vote.

In the race for County Recorder, Democrat Gabriella Cázares-Kelly had 63 percent of the vote against Republican Benny White.

Democrat Brian Bickel has an early lead over Treasurer Beth Ford, a Republican first elected in 2000, by capturing 53 percent of the vote.

Democrat Suzanne Droubie had won 62 percent of the vote against Republican Jo Ann Sabbagh in the race for County Assessor.

After winning a three-way primary race in August, Democrat Laura Conover was unopposed in the contest to replace Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, who is stepping down after six terms. County School Superintendent Dustin Williams was also unopposed in his bid for a second term.

In the race to replace Republican Ally Miller on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Democrat Rex Scott is out with an early lead over Republican Steve Spain with 53 percent of the vote. If Scott, a former school administrator, can hang onto his lead, this will be an upset victory for Democrats in Pima County tonight. District 1, which includes the Catalina Foothills as well Oro Valley and Marana, is a Republican-leaning district.

In District 2, Democrat Matt Heinz, who defeated longtime Supervisor Ramon Valadez in the August primary, has captured 72 percent of the vote against Republican Anthony Sizer.

In District 3, Democrat Sharon Bronson appears to be headed for a seventh term on the board as she had won 63 percent of the against GOP challenger Gabby Mercer.

In District 4, Democratic challenger Steve Diamond is giving incumbent GOP Supervisor Steve Christy a run for his money with an early lead capturing 51 percent against Christy 49 percent in this heavily GOP district.

In District 5, in the race for the open seat previously held by the late Supervisor Richard Elias, Democrat Adelita Grijalva had captured 77 percent of the vote against Republican Fernando Gonzales.

With the tallies from early ballots released, Arizona is living up to its designation as a battleground state.

In the presidential race, Democratic challenger Joe Biden is out with an early lead over Republican incumbent Donald Trump. Among early voters, Biden has captured 57 percent of the vote, while Trump has 41 percent.

In the U.S. Senate race, Democrat Mark Kelly has a larger lead over Republican Martha McSally. Kelly, who had led in most polls leading up to  had captured 58 percent of the vote among early ballots. If Kelly prevails, McSally will have lost two U.S. Senate races in two years, handing the Democratic Party both of Arizona’s Senate seats for the first time

In Southern Arizona’s congressional races, the incumbent Democrats are out ahead.

In Congressional District 1, which includes Oro Valley and Marana as well as Flagstaff, Northern Arizona Native American reservations and most of rural Eastern Arizona, U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran had captured 56 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Tiffany Shedd.

In Congressional District 2, which includes central and eastern Tucson, the Catalina Foothills and Cochise County, U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick had captured 63 percent of the vote against Republican challenger Brandon Martin.

In Congressional District 3, U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva was cruising to victory with 71 percent of the early vote against GOP challenger Daniel Wood.

PHOENIX – Twenty-four hours after Tuesday’s election, the U.S. officially will exit the Paris Agreement, an effort by nearly 200 countries to reduce the threat of man-made climate change. This comes as Arizona voters are expressing a growing interest in climate change and environmental policy.

A new survey of voters indicates Arizonans are becoming more concerned about climate change, which could influence their choices between two presidential candidates with starkly different strategies for tackling environmental issues.

The Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University and the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust surveyed 800 Arizona voters in 2017 and followed up in January 2020 to gauge Arizonans’ evolving beliefs about environmental protection.

“Arizona voters are as interested or more interested in and concerned about the environment in 2020 as they were in 2017,” the survey said. “This includes attitudes
toward and opinions about wildlife, land use, rivers and streams, global warming, preservation of water, air and water quality, and government spending on and attention to the environment.”

In 2020, the survey found, 87% of Arizona voters believe the environmental issues facing the state are either “very serious” or “serious,” up from 81% in 2017.

Stephen Kilar of the Morrison Institute said the survey demonstrated a striking shift in climate change beliefs.

“Nearly 70% of respondents said that the state government has to do more to combat climate change,” Kilar said. “Of that 70%, 45% said that they strongly agree that the state government needs to do more. That is up from 33% just three years ago.

“More and more people are wanting action.”

But why now?

“The climate crisis is here and it is affecting all of us right now,” said Daniela Campos, Climate Power 2020’s spokesperson in Arizona. “This summer, Phoenix hit another historical record of extreme heat, wildfires are still burning in the West, and the Atlantic is dealing with a supercharged hurricane season.

“Our country needs bold, transformative, science-based climate action. This is why climate is a critical issue for a majority of voters in Arizona in 2020.”

Historically, the topic of climate change hasn’t weighed heavily on the minds of Arizona voters until now, the new survey suggests. Although more white and Hispanic voters have prioritized environmental issues higher in the last few years, some climate activists say marginalized communities that experience the disproportionate effects of climate change have conducted much of the activism for decades.

PHOENIX – Amid an otherwise relaxing Halloween weekend, Kliff Kingsbury’s biggest scare proved to be breaking news on the virus front, not spooky costumes. And this time, it hit home hard.

Two Arizona players tested positive for COVID-19 during the team’s bye week – starting outside linebacker Devon Kennard, who revealed on Twitter that he had been infected, and second-year cornerback Byron Murphy. Both are homegrown products.

Kingsbury did not disclose the identity of the players who tested positive, but their names were placed on the team’s reserve/COVID-19 list, and will remain there until satisfying league protocols.

“It wasn’t a matter of if, it was a matter of when this would occur,” Kingsbury said Monday morning. “There (were) a couple positives, and luckily the contact tracing was limited and yesterday’s test results were all negative, so we’re just moving forward with that protocol and taking it from there.”

Kingsbury said it would be “business as usual when it comes to practice” Monday, which means the Cardinals will try to stay on track as they prepare for the suddenly daunting Miami Dolphins, who thumped the NFC West-contending Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.

Statewide update now. Pima & Coconino reporting this morning. Update includes poll voters from Maricopa.

Didn't mention it earlier, but early votes have passed all of 2016 turnout at this time.

Total: 2.7M
Turnout: 63%
Party Adv: +42k GOP*

Details: https://t.co/t8b18G7DDA pic.twitter.com/2pn67vgFDo

— Sam Almy (@sfalmy) November 3, 2020

If you want to know who's voting out there today, follow the fascinating Twitter feed of Democratic strategist Sam Almy of Saguar Strategies, who is updating the returns and tracking the number of Democrats, Republicans and independents who are cast ballots. It's just the thing to soothe your election anxiety—or maybe increase it!