AZ Election 2012: Ron Barber Defeats Martha McSally In 2nd District Race

Barber Wins House Race
FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2012 file photo, Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., speaks to the media in Tucson, Ariz. As the election nears, Republicans and Democrats alike say Medicare is working to their political advantage in campaigns for the White House and Congress. They can't both be right, and no matter which side is, this is one campaign clash with consequences extending well beyond Nov. 6. Given the millions that both sides are spending, the winner of the presidential election may be able to claim a Medicare mandate. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 7, 2012 file photo, Rep. Ron Barber, D-Ariz., speaks to the media in Tucson, Ariz. As the election nears, Republicans and Democrats alike say Medicare is working to their political advantage in campaigns for the White House and Congress. They can't both be right, and no matter which side is, this is one campaign clash with consequences extending well beyond Nov. 6. Given the millions that both sides are spending, the winner of the presidential election may be able to claim a Medicare mandate. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Democrat Ron Barber has won a full term representing Arizona's 2nd Congressional District, the AP reports.

Barber won a special election earlier this year to succeed Gabrielle Giffords, his former boss who stepped down after being wounded in a shooting.

Martha McSally, Barber's Republican challenger, had filed a motion on Tuesday for one county's election director to stop counting certain provisional ballots, many of them from a majority-Latino precinct near the border.

The AP reports:

Democrat Ron Barber has won a full term representing Arizona's 2nd Congressional District, squeaking out a win over Republican Martha McSally and giving Democrats a sweep of the state's three competitive races for U.S. House seats.

Voters decisively picked Barber to fill out the remainder of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords term in a special election in June, but last week's election was for a full term and was so tight it took until Saturday before a winner was clear. Barber and McSally each held leads since election night, with a difference of only a few dozen votes at times, before Barber steadily began pulling ahead.

By late Friday, Barber had a 1,402-vote margin with more than 285,000 votes cast in the race. Only about 15,000 provisional ballots remain to be counted in Pima County, although not all are in the 2nd District. An Associated Press analysis determined Barber's lead could not be overcome.

McSally planned a 2 p.m. Saturday press conference. Her campaign manager, Bruce Harvie, declined to confirm if she planned to concede.

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