With all the bad news Republicans have received in the midterms, there have been some bright spots.
Last night, former Navy SEAL Rep. Eli Crane took the lead in Arizona's District 2 race.
Crane was initially trailing his Democrat challenger Jonathan Nez but has since taken the lead in what is Arizona's tightest race so far.
KSTAR covered the numbers:
Republican incumbent Rep. Eli Crane is maintaining his lead over Democratic challenger Jonathan Nez in Arizona's last uncalled congressional race.
As of midday Friday, Crane's lead in Arizona's 2nd Congressional District was 49.7% to 48.5%, with a difference of 3,694 votes after nearly 343,000 ballots were tallied.
While the race is tight, the margin would have to shrink below 0.5 percentage points to trigger an automatic recount.
The race is a rematch of 2024, when Crane carried the district by about 9 percentage points. President Donald Trump won the same district by about 15 points that year.
Rep. Crane has been one of Republicans' most valuable assets in the House.
Here are some of his best moments:
LaMonica McIver who is charged with assaulting ICE agents: "I don’t know what your obsession is... I am so tired of you mentioning me."
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) January 22, 2026
Eli Crane: "If you quit assaulting ICE agents... I would stop bringing you up"pic.twitter.com/8NEZAWN0F1
This was a classic:
Didn't think so! 😂 😂 Good job Eli Crane.!!! pic.twitter.com/8jGYYQxWD0
— Sami Nathaniel (@NathanielSami) March 24, 2026
AZ Family reported that two more Republicans who were initially trailing in their races have pulled out a lead:
The Associated Press called Arizona's 5th Congressional District on Friday, declaring GOP candidate Mark Lamb the winner over Democrat Elizabeth Lee.
Lamb has 51.5% of the vote over Lee's 48.5% as of Friday morning, a narrow three-percent difference.
In the Republican-leaning district, Lee had a nearly five-percentage-point lead over Lamb when Tuesday's results came in. However, Lamb took back the lead overnight Wednesday and has stayed ahead.
Republicans won the East Valley seat by more than 20 percentage points in 2024.
Lamb was a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2024, looking to replace then-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. However, he lost the primary to Kari Lake.
President Trump reaffirmed his endorsement for the former Pinal County Sheriff after Lamb faced allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power.
Lee, a reproductive health and infertility nurse, touted healthcare as a main focus of her campaign.
Later Friday morning, Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh was declared winner over Democrat Bernadette Greene-Placentia for Arizona's 8th Congressional District.
Hamadeh previously won the West Valley seat by 13 percentage points in 2024.
JUST IN: AP projects Republican Mark Lamb has won the U.S. House Arizona District 5 matchup, defeating Democrat Elizabeth Lee. More election results: https://t.co/frWNADY5t9 pic.twitter.com/zStadxb7lm
— FOX 10 Phoenix (@FOX10Phoenix) November 6, 2026
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