Three hours after the polls closed in Arizona and all signs point to a red wave lapping the shores of Maricopa’s Legislative District 16.  

Republican candidates for House and Senate seats held narrow leads against their Democratic opponents, with Sen. T.J. Shope (R-Casa Grande) jumping out to a double-digit lead, the largest in the district.

In the district’s Senate race, incumbent Shope led challenger Stacey Seaman (D-Casa Grande) by 7,100 votes, or 12%.  

“The results are looking well. This is the seventh race I’ve had and all of them have been unique,” Shope told InMaricopa tonight. “I just want to thank the voters for giving me another term and I look forward to serving.” 

This marks Shope’s third term; in 2002, he retained the seat by 11% over Democratic challenger Taylor Kerby. 

In the House, Rep. Teresa Martinez (R-Casa Grande) was chief vote-getter — she garnered 29,327 votes, or nearly 37% — of the three candidates. Incumbent Rep. Keith Seaman (D-Casa Grande) trailed a mere 3.4% behind challenger Chris Lopez (R-Casa Grande). 

Martinez said she was still waiting for more results to come in before celebrating.  

“With only 7% of the vote tabulated, we’re going to have to wait to see until it’s 50 or 70% of the vote in for us to feel that we were in a good spot,” she told InMaricopa early in the evening. “I think Chris and I ran a great race, and I feel very good about where I am.” 

Martinez and Lopez, who have been running a ticket together since the primaries, teamed up again in recent weeks to squash Seaman by calling out a series of “untruths and half-truths,” alluding to the representative’s vocal support for State Route 347 funding. She said the Democrat’s voting record proved otherwise. 

Lopez did not immediately respond to a request for comment.  

The father-daughter Seaman duo, also running a ticket together, were still holding out some hope. In a joint statement this evening, they told InMaricopa they were continuing to “monitor the results of this election as they are reported.”  

“While there is no clear winner yet, I am confident in the electoral process and thankful for our hardworking election officials as counting continues,” Rep. Seaman said.