Kelly tops McSally by double digits in Arizona Senate race

Democratic candidate Mark Kelly leads Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) by 11 points in a New York Times-Siena College poll released Monday.

Kelly led McSally 50 percent to 39 percent, according to the survey, slightly up from September when the race stood at 50 percent to 42 percent. Ten percent of respondents said they were undecided but no statistically significant amount of voters supported a third-party candidate.

The same poll found Joe Biden leading President Trump by a smaller 8-point margin, and many of the same demographics are responsible for both candidates’ leads. Kelly leads among women 53 percent to 35 percent, the poll found.

Among voters aged 18 to 29, the former astronaut leads 57 percent to 29 percent, while he leads among Hispanic and Latino voters 64 percent to 26 percent.

The race for the Arizona seat is a special election to determine who will complete the late Sen. John McCain’s (R) term. Consequently, if Kelly wins, he could be seated in time to vote on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett if the chamber votes during a lame-duck session.

However, the poll found more voters supported than opposed Barrett’s nomination to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Forty-two percent of voters supported Barrett’s nomination, compared with 37 percent opposed and 21 percent who were undecided, according to the poll.

While McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, has endorsed Biden and is serving on the advisory council for his transition team, she has declined to make an endorsement for her late husband’s seat.

Pollsters surveyed 655 likely voters between Oct. 1-3. The poll has a 4.2-point margin of error.