Joe Biden Projected Winner In Arizona Over Donald Trump

ARIZONA — Former Vice President and Democrat Joe Biden has been projected the winner in Arizona over President Donald Trump, according to projections made by The Associated Press and Fox News.

Long a Republican stronghold, Arizona has turned blue in 2020, according to the projections. Trump won the state by 4 points in 2016. According to the most recent poll average compiled by FiveThirtyEight, Biden led him by 2.6 percent going into Election Day.

Arizonans turned in their ballots in record-breaking numbers ahead of Tuesday. Ballots returned in the first week of early voting surged nearly 100 percent in the state's three most-populous counties compared with 2018, according to data compiled by the Arizona Republic.

Donald Trump: 1,626,679

Joe Biden: 1,643,664

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Those numbers are according to the Arizona Secretary of State.

Both campaigns made Arizona a focal point in the weeks before the election. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both made several stops throughout the Grand Canyon State. Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), made one official visit to Phoenix on Oct. 8, with Harris returning on her own Oct. 28.

Trump and Pence have also stumped for Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who faced a tight battle to retain her seat against Democratic challenger Mark Kelly. Kelly was also projected the winner in the Senate race — the second seat to flip to Democrats in their battle for the U.S. Senate, according to The Associated Press. .

Even major Arizona Republican names, including former Sen. Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain, endorsed Biden for the presidency.

Arizona's changing demographics have made it a key state in 2020. The home of late Republican Sens. John McCain and Barry Goldwater has seen a slight shift to the left in recent years, due to an increase in population and an uptick in its registered Latino voters.

But Republicans are still a mainstay in the state, especially in the populous Maricopa County. The county's new registered voters counted more Republicans than any other party.

But even as election results come in, Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs warned that results might not be ready Nov. 3. That is largely due to the high number of mail-in ballots expected this year. Arizona also has a law that gives voters five business days to fix their ballot signatures if they don't match what the election office has on file.

“The election doesn’t end on Election Day,” Hobbs said at a news conference Oct. 14.

That proved true as results began to slowly trickle in throughout the state Tuesday night. Vote counting will continue throughout the week.