The 2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona was held on November 3, 2020, following the death in office of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain on August 25, 2018. Governor Doug Ducey was required by Arizona law to appoint a Republican to fill the vacant seat until a special election winner could be sworn in. On September 5, 2018, Ducey appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to fill McCain's seat. However, Kyl announced he would resign on December 31, 2018.
On December 18, 2018, Ducey announced that outgoing U.S. Representative Martha McSally would be appointed to fill the seat following Kyl's resignation. McSally was sworn in as the state's junior U.S. Senator on January 3, 2019, less than two months after she was defeated by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema for Arizona's Class 1 U.S. Senate seat. McSally ran to complete the term, defeating skincare executive Daniel McCarthy in the Republican primary. She faced former astronaut Mark Kelly, who ran uncontested in the Democratic primary. Primary elections took place on August 4, 2020.
Once a reliably Republican state, Arizona trended more purple in the late 2010s. Kelly significantly outraised McSally and led by about 5% in the average poll leading up to Election Day.
Kelly defeated McSally by a margin of 2.4% on election night, thereby flipping the seat Democratic. As a result, he outperformed Joe Biden in the concurrent presidential election, who defeated President Donald Trump by a margin of 0.3% in the state, but underperformed his polling average. Kelly became the first Democrat to win the Class 3 Senate seat since Carl Hayden won his last term in 1962.
Kelly was sworn in on December 2, 2020, marking the first time since 1953 that Democrats held both of ArizonaâÂÂs Senate seats.
Interim appointments
Appointees
Potential candidates not appointed
- Kirk Adams, incumbent chief of staff to incumbent governor of Arizona Doug Ducey and former speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
- Barbara Barrett, Secretary of the Air Force and former United States Ambassador to Finland
- Jan Brewer, former governor of Arizona and former secretary of state of Arizona
- Paul Gosar, incumbent U.S. representative for Arizona's 4th congressional district
- Eileen Klein, former treasurer of Arizona and former chief of staff to former governor of Arizona Jan Brewer
- Cindy McCain, widow of former U.S. senator John McCain
- Meghan McCain, daughter of former U.S. senator John McCain
- Mick McGuire, incumbent adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard
- Karrin Taylor Robson, businesswoman and incumbent member of the Arizona Board of Regents
- Matt Salmon, former U.S. representative, 2002 gubernatorial nominee and former chairperson of the Arizona Republican Party
- David Schweikert, incumbent U.S. representative for Arizona's 6th congressional district
- John Shadegg, former U.S. representative for Arizona's 3rd congressional district
- Kelli Ward, former candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016 and 2018
- Grant Woods, former Republican Arizona Attorney General and former congressional chief of staff to former U.S. senator John McCain
Republican primary
Incumbent McSally faced one challenger: Daniel McCarthy, a skincare company executive. McCarthy's independent wealth was expected to set up a bruising and expensive primary campaign; however, McSally won the primary in a landslide.
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
- Sean Lyons (as a write-in candidate)
- Daniel McCarthy, skincare company executive
Withdrawn
- Craig Brittain, former revenge porn site operator
- PT Burton
- Mark Cavener
- Floyd Getchell
- Ann Griffin, former teacher
- Josue Larose, 2016 Republican presidential candidate and 2012 Republican candidate for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district
Declined
- Kirk Adams, incumbent chief of staff to incumbent governor of Arizona Doug Ducey and former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
- Joe Arpaio, former Sheriff of Maricopa County and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 (ran for Maricopa County Sheriff)
- Doug Ducey, governor of Arizona
- Paul Gosar, U.S. representative for (ran for re-election)
- Jon Kyl, former two-time U.S. senator, former U.S. Representative for , and former Senate Minority Whip
- Blake Masters, president of the Thiel Foundation
- Curt Schilling, former Major League Baseball player and Blaze Media commentator
- Fife Symington, former governor of Arizona
Endorsements
Primary results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in primary
- Bo "Heir Archy" Garcia (as a write-in candidate)
Withdrew
Declined
Endorsements
Primary results
Libertarian primary
Neither one of the write-in candidates received enough votes to secure the Libertarian nomination in the general election.
Write-in candidates
Eliminated in primary
Primary results
Other candidates
General election write-in candidates
Declared
Republican
- Edward Davida
- John Schiess
- Debbie Simmons
- Patrick "Pat" Thomas
Democratic
- Mohammed "Mike Obama" Arif
- Adam Chilton
- Perry Kapadia
- Buzz Stewart
Other
- Christopher Beckett, veteran (Independent)
- William "Will" Decker (Independent)
- Matthew "Doc" Dorchester (Libertarian)
- Nicholas N. Glenn, Navy veteran and aerospace engineer (Independent Republican)
- Mathew Haupt (Independent)
- Benjamin Rodriguez (Independent)
- Joshua Rodriguez (Unity)
- Frank Saenz (Independent)
- Jim Stevens (Independent)
Withdrawn
General election
Debates
Predictions
Post-primary endorsements
Polling
Graphical summary
Aggregate polls
with Daniel McCarthy and Mark Kelly<br />
with Ruben Gallego<br />
on whether McSally deserves to be re-elected<br />
with generic Republican and generic Democrat<br />
Results
By county
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
By congressional district
Kelly won five of nine congressional districts.
See also
Notes
Partisan clients<br />
References
Further reading
External links
Official campaign websites