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Alabama's special Senate election could affect Arizona in 2018

With a razor-thin advantage for Republicans in the U.S. Senate, all eyes now turn to our state and the hotly contested race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake.

Tuesday night's special Senate election win by Doug Jones was historic for Democrats in Alabama, and it could have major implications in Arizona.

With a razor-thin advantage for Republicans in the U.S. Senate, all eyes now turn to our state and the hotly contested race to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Flake.

Arizona was already on the national radar as a Senate battleground next year, but with Jones' victory, Arizona voters will likely decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Jones' victory is a body blow to Republicans in the fight for Senate control. The GOP will have just a single-vote majority over Democrats once Jones takes office: 51 seats to 49.

Next year, 33 of the 100 Senate seats will be up for election.

Two Republican-held seats -- Arizona's and Nevada's -- are rated most likely to flip to a Democrat and give the Dems control of the Senate.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon is another Alabama connection to Arizona.

Bannon was Alabama Republican candidate Roy Moore's political godfather, and he's filling the same role for Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kelli Ward.

But after the Moore fiasco, there are questions about whether Bannon will survive until Arizona's Senate race in 2018.

There's still the possibility that a second Senate seat will open in Arizona before next year's election if Sen. John McCain's illness forces him to leave the Senate.

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