With more than 90% of precincts reporting, Rep. Eli Crane (R-Oro Valley) looks likely to retain his seat as the congressman from Arizona’s largest district, a potential key to a Republican supermajority in Washington, D.C., as eyes turn to House races in the wake of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s win and a guaranteed GOP Senate majority.

The congressman currently leads challenger and former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez (D-Flagstaff) by seven percentage points, 20,874 votes, in Arizona’s Second Congressional District as of 12:30 p.m. In Pinal County, his lead is 12 points.

At 12:40 p.m. today Republicans had secured 201 congressional seats of 218 needed for a majority in that chamber, while Democrats had claimed just 184 seats.

Crane could not be reached for comment today. His opponent, Nez, told InMaricopa he was still waiting for more results to come in from several counties, including Pinal. Currently, less than one-third of Pinal County’s precincts are done reporting.  

“We’re still waiting for some votes to come in, especially in the counties that are more highly Democratic, so it will be interesting to see how those votes look,” Nez said.

Although Nez currently leads the incumbent by 35 points in that county, he said it was still a concern because a number of people may have felt discouraged from voting.  

“We heard some people, especially the elderly, went home. In some cases, some of the people who gave them a ride couldn’t wait that long,” he said. “So, we tried to encourage people to return later to vote.” 

That night, the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit in Apache County Superior Court for polling sites to stay open longer to accommodate voters who left. They were granted an additional two hours.

A close race in Maricopa, but not elsewhere

Locally, the race was a pretty close call, with Crane leading on average four points through most of the city. His strongest support in Maricopa proper came from the Maricopa Fiesta precinct, represented by the Rancho El Dorado neighborhood, which Crane won by eight percentage points. 

Nez saw strong support from voters in Alterra and Senita with a double-digit lead in both precincts.

Outside the city, Crane led the democrat Nez by 26% in Thunderbird Farms.

Nez had his greatest support from Indigenous voters living in the communities surrounding Maricopa. Three-fourths of the Ak-Chin Indian Community voted for Nez, while an average of 83% of voters from the Gila River Indian Community supported him. 

He said he wasn’t surprised by the support from Indigenous communities because he believed there would be a large turnout even with the heavy conservative presence.  

“This district leans very Republican, but we do thank everyone for all the support,” he said. “I think they showed the state needs to focus on rural Arizona and its tribal communities. They want a better quality of life and a focus on infrastructure.”