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Parker, Sinema race too close to call

When most Arizonans went to sleep on Tuesday night, they still did not know who would represent the state's newest congressional district. From Phoenix, Jude Joffe-Block reports the 9th Congressional District race hasn't been called yet, with unofficial results showing the Democrat leading by about 2,100 votes, or less than 1.5 points.

JUDE JOFFE-BLOCK: The race between Democrat Kyrsten Sinema and Republican Vernon Parker got nasty at times. Each camp accused the other of being too extreme. The new 9th District includes slices Phoenix, Tempe and Scottsdale, as well as other cities. Independents make up the largest group of voters there, but Sinema was thought to have an edge since many of those unaffiliated voters have leaned to the left in the past. Though late Tuesday night, Parker was in striking distance, and addressed the crowd at the state GOP election night party.

VERNON PARKER: We are more than what they expected, thank you guys for all your support, hang in there because this is ours.

JOFFE-BLOCK: But he added, he'd be up all night waiting for the results to come in. For her part, Sinema remained optimistic about keeping her narrow lead. Like her opponent, she acknowledged final results could take time.

KYRSTEN SINEMA: We are happy to wait until every single one of those ballots is counted, may that be tonight, four days, five days a week, we are going to make sure every person's vote is counted in this district, and we are happy to wait as long as it takes.

JOFFE-BLOCK: Sinema is a former state legislator, and Parker is a former Paradise Valley mayor and previously served in the Bush administration.