Trump flips Arizona, sweeping battleground states

Donald Trump is projected to win the state of Arizona, clinching a major battleground state, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Arizona is one of seven swing states that held the key to whether Trump or Vice President Harris returned to the White House. The Grand Canyon State went for Trump in 2016 by 3.5 points, but the former president narrowly lost it in 2020 against President Biden by just over a quarter of a percentage point.

Trump has secured the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House following a roughly 100-day campaign between him and Harris. With the Arizona win, Trump has acquired total of 312 votes while Harris got a total of 226.

Several prominent Republicans in the state endorsed Harris, including former Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who most recently served as ambassador to Turkey during the Biden administration, and Mesa Mayor John Giles.

But even those prominent GOP defections were not enough to put Harris over the top.

The state became fertile ground for election denialism after the 2020 presidential election as Trump and others contested the results of the last presidential cycle despite audits and court challenges pointing to the fact that no widespread fraud occurred.

There was particular focus on Arizona this cycle given that it was also home to a competitive Senate race between Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Republican Kari Lake to replace retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.).

Most public polling ahead of that Senate race showed Gallego leading Lake, raising questions around whether the state could see potential split-ticket voting, with the state electing both Trump and Gallego.