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Race In Arizona Border District Too Close To Call

The race for an important border Congressional District in Arizona has fallen to a difference of little more than 400 votes as the tallying of the final numbers continues. A final count could still be days away.

Both Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Ron Barber say they’re optimistic about the outcome here. McSally was widely considered the underdog in the 2nd Congressional District.

Barber had backing from Gabrielle Giffords who not only asked him to replace her when she retired last year but has come out numerous times to support him ever since. even voting at his side, last Monday.

Then Tuesday night, McSally gained rapidly on Barber, closing a 6 percent gap and leaving this district in the air ever since. The race is close enough that both candidates said they’ll wait until the final count comes in before a winner is declared.

Senior Field Correspondent Michel Marizco (Tucson) has reported along the Southwest border for the past decade, most of that in Arizona and Sonora. Before joining the Fronteras Desk, he produced stories in the field for CNN Madrid, the BBC, 60 Minutes Australia, and the CBC. His work now focuses on transnational trafficking syndicates, immigration, federal law enforcement and those weird, wild stories that make the U.S.-Mexico border such an inherently fascinating region. He is a contributing author on Shared Responsibility: U.S.-Mexico Policy Options for Confronting Organized Crime and an occasional writer at High Country News. In his spare time, he works with Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, assisting in the ongoing investigations of journalist killings in Mexico.
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