Despite election-night tensions among the campaign workers for Republican gubernatorial candidate Matt Salmon, supporters found solace in the numerous Republican victories across the country.
"What a great night for our Republican party," said J.D. Hayworth, winner of the race for U.S. Congress, District 5. "What a great night for America."
At press time, 94.4 percent of precincts were reporting with Democratic candidate Janet Napolitano receiving 46 percent of the vote to Salmon's 45 percent, with Napolitano leading by nearly 16,000 votes out of almost 966,000 total votes reported.
Salmon addressed the crowd of supporters at the Airport Marriott Hotel in Phoenix on Tuesday night with a smile.
"Well, we knew it was going to be a squeaker," he said. "It's going to be a long night, folks."
Supporters young and old gathered around television screens as the numbers slowly came in to the tune of "It's all right, have a good time," playing in the background.
"I hope that Salmon can pull it off," said supporter Pete Hedman of Mesa, as he stared up at the results.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., spoke at the party to help keep spirits high.
"We're still going to win this race," McCain said.
ASU students at the campaign party stayed optimistic throughout the night.
"It seems pretty positive right now," said Gordana Mikalacki, a political science junior.
Brittany Cary, a public relations sophomore, was working as an intern for Rep. Jeff Flake R-Ariz., GOP winner of the race for U.S. Congress, District 6.
"I'm pretty overwhelmed, I've never been to anything like this before," she said, adding that she hopes results would be in as soon as possible.
It may take days, though, until final numbers are calculated due to mail-in ballots. Despite running a close race, Salmon maintained a positive attitude, confident from the number of Republicans winning in both the state of Arizona and in the entire nation.
"It may take us a while," Salmon said. "But the fact is, we're in the running, we're in striking distance and the trends are on our side."
Reach the reporter at megan.rudebeck@asu.edu.
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