Florida, Arizona Election Day 2016 Live Updates: Results From McCain, Rubio, Wasserman Schultz Primary Contests

UPDATE: 12:30 a.m. EDT: The Associated Press has declared Republican Sen. John McCain the winner in Tuesday’s Arizona primary. The 80-year-old, who secured 53.5 percent of the votes, defeated his main rival, Kelli Ward, who secured just 37 percent.

McCain will now face his Democratic rival, Ann Kirkpatrick, in November’s general elections.

UPDATE 10:19 p.m. EDT — Marco Rubio's primary rival refused to congratulate him on his victory Tuesday night.

“I made the miscalculation of taking Mr. Rubio at his word that he wouldn’t seek re-election if he lost the Presidential Primary,” Carlos Beruff said in a 14-paragraph statement after the Florida primary contest. “Even in March he re-iterated that he has told people '10,000' times that he is not running for re-election. I guess I was silly to believe the words of a Washington politician.”

He continued: “With regard to young Mr. Rubio, in my judgment he made a life mistake. A man’s word is the most important thing he has. Mr. Rubio must live with that decision. Sadly, he could have learned a lot about America and about himself by leaving politics and spending some time in the real world.”

Beruff said he would still vote for Rubio in November over his Democratic rival.

“Nonetheless, he is the best of the remaining options,” Beruff said.

Rubio said he wouldn't run for a second term in the U.S. Senate if he didn't win his bid for president. But after he lost to Republican Donald Trump, he entered the Senate race.

UPDATE 9:44 p.m. EDT — Election officials in Maricopa County in Arizona said six polling locations out of more than 700 polling places opened about an hour late because poll workers didn't show up on time. Some voters in the Phoenix area also complained about getting the wrong ballot.

UPDATE 9:17 p.m. EDT — Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won her Florida Democratic primary Tuesday night against college professor Tim Canova. Wasserman Schultz recently resigned from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair after leaked emails seemed to show she favored Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders backed Canova in the primary race.

UPDATE 8:29 p.m. EDT — Marco Rubio won the Republican Florida primary in his re-election bid for the U.S. Senate, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday night. Rubio entered the race after vowing to leave politics when he didn't win the GOP presidential nomination against Donald Trump. He later changed his mind.

UPDATE 8:16 p.m. EDT — County election officials across Florida said primary day wrapped up without problems. Turnout was steady Tuesday, but not above average.

"Everything went pretty smoothly," Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher told local reporters.

In the Democratic Senate race, Rep. Patrick Murphy quickly declared victory. He will likely face off against Republican Marco Rubio in November.

UPDATE 7:48 p.m. EDT — Latino activists were pushing residents to vote in Arizona Tuesday in a campaign that could help Democrats in November. Volunteers with One Arizona, a coalition of Latino advocacy groups, made calls and knocked on doors, the Arizona Republic reported.

UPDATE 7:05 p.m. EDT — Polls across most of Florida closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday night, while others in the northwestern part of the state were scheduled to close at 8 p.m. The Miami New Times has an excellent guide to the local races to watch here. The national press is largely following Sen. Marco Rubio's re-election fight. He is expected to easily win.

UPDATE 6:20 p.m. EDT — Arizona Sen. John McCain's challenger in Tuesday's primary battle has described the race as a David and Goliath battle, one that "David won." Even if McCain wins Tuesday, he might lose the general election to Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, the Associated Press reported.

UPDATE 5:42 p.m. EDT — After federal officials warned Monday that some state's election systems may have been hacked, Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner reassured voters their ballots were safe.

"We have not been contacted by the FBI," Detzner said during a Tuesday conference call with reporters. "I have seen these reports in the past, but we have put in place all the safeguards we feel are needed for a secure election."

Russian hackers may have invaded the Illinois and Arizona voter registration systems, according to media reports.

UPDATE 5:15 p.m. EDT — Marco Rubio's likely rival in Florida's November Senate race slammed the former GOP presidential candidate Tuesday for refusing to commit to a six-year term. Rubio told CNN, “No one can make that commitment," but Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy disagrees.

“I can,” Murphy said in a news release, the Tampa Bay Times reported Tuesday. Murphy is widely expected to defeat Rep. Alan Grayson Tuesday in Florida's Democratic Senate primary.

UPDATE 4:28 p.m. EDT — Sen. John McCain's Arizona's primary race Tuesday is being watched by the national media, but the state's local elections could also shape national politics.

"The Aug. 30 primary election is the one that matters when it comes to the Arizona Legislature, since most districts heavily favor one party over the other," the Arizona Republic wrote. That matters because Arizona's conservative state politics often make national news, including its tough stance on illegal immigration and gay rights.

UPDATE 4:03 p.m. EDT — Rain in Tampa has raised concerns about voter turnout as Florida's primary vote plays out Tuesday.

"Which candidate was best at getting out early voters/mail-in ballots? This rain could kill evening turnout," wrote Tampa Bay Times reporter Steve Contorno on Twitter.

A tropical depression is approaching the Tampa area and is being forecast to strengthen to a tropical storm before making landfall Thursday. "Florida families on the Gulf Coast and in the Tampa Bay area need to prepare for five to 10 inches of heavy rainfall as well as potential tornadoes," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said said in a statement Tuesday.

UPDATE 3:33 p.m. EDT — Arizona Sen. John McCain is expected to win his primary race against challenger Kelli Ward Tuesday, but it could be a bit too close for comfort. If he squeezes by Ward, McCain faces stiff competition in the general election against Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick.

McCain, 80, is "hoping for a blowout" but "bracing for a squeaker," reported Politico Tuesday.

"It’s not so much I think it’s close. I just don’t think you should heighten expectations," McCain said in an interview with the outlet. "The one thing you never want to do in politics is heighten expectations. You always want to lowball it. That's just the best way to handle it. Plan for the worst and hope for the best."

UPDATE 2:53 p.m. EDT — Turnout for Florida's primary Tuesday in Tampa's Pinellas County so far is up compared to recent years, according to the office of the spokesman for the supervisor of elections. Overall voter turnout stood at 24.5 percent as of 2:40 p.m. local time, which is up from primaries in 2012 and 2014, reported Mark Puente of the Tampa Bay Times on Twitter.

UPDATE 2:18 p.m. EDT — Models who worked for the agency of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — who somewhat tepidly endorsed primary candidates Arizona Sen. John McCain and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio — said they worked illegally in the United States, according to an exclusive report released Tuesday by Mother Jones.

Trump has made immigration a key part of his presidential campaign, saying he would build a massive wall on the U.S.'s southern border and had pledged to deport undocumented immigrants. Models in the Mother Jones story said that his agency would only secure visas for women they like. Florida and Arizona both have large undocumented immigrant populations.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m. EDT — A pair of Florida voters told the Associated Press Tuesday that they cast a vote for Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is expected to cruise to a win in his primary race.

Voter Diane Martin-Johnson, 66, told the AP it's "unfortunate he didn't do his job fully in Washington this term," but she thinks Rubio deserves another shot. Rubio had previously said he would walk away from the Senate if his bid to earn the Republican presidential nomination failed.

Another voter, 69-year-old Tim Kaczynski, told the AP that he selected Rubio simply because he knew nothing about the other candidate.

UPDATE 1:01 p.m. EDT — National politics — specifically the shadow of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — are looming over primary votes in Arizona and Florida Tuesday.

GOP candidates Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Arizona Sen. John McCain have had to tiptoe around the controversy Trump brings with his tepid endorsements of the primary candidates. "One name not on either ballot, Donald Trump, looms large," wrote Reuters Tuesday.

A Democratic voter in Arizona told the Arizona Republic that she was so disturbed by the March presidential primary process that it inspired her to show up locally Tuesday, despite there being few important Democratic votes.

UPDATE 12:31 p.m. EDT — Voting in Florida got off to a smooth start Tuesday and it's reportedly more of the same in Arizona. After struggles with long lines during the March presidential primary, early reports have suggested voting has gone well thus far in Arizona, according to the Arizona Republic.

One reporter described no wait at a Phoenix polling place that had a line out the door during the presidential primary. In the lead up to the vote Tuesday, election officials said they made changes — such as requiring voters to report to their designated polling place — to help resolve issues that led to long lines.

UPDATE 12:09 p.m. EDT — While voters in Florida take to the polls to vote in primaries Tuesday, many others participated ahead of time. Through Sunday, the final day for early voting, some 1.7 million people had cast ballots, reported the Miami Herald.

Turnout this year has been slow but steady and is expected to surpass recent totals, the paper reported. In 2012, the most recent primary in a presidential election year, turnout was 2.3 million, or 20.5 percent of the electorate.

UPDATE 11:45 a.m. EDT — Sen. John McCain voted early Tuesday morning local time in the Arizona primaries. The Republican senator up for re-election found no lines at Mountain View Christian Church in Phoenix and spent fewer than 10 minutes at the polling place, according to the Arizona Republic.

McCain is expected to win Tuesday over his GOP primary competitor Kelli Ward.

UPDATE 11:05 a.m. EDT — So far, so good in Florida. The state's top election official, Secretary of State Ken Detzner, told the Associated Press Tuesday morning the primary election had run smoothly thus far.

He described just a few "minor problems" including a couple of polling places opening slightly late and one Miami polling place shifting locations because the planned spot, the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens, was being inspected and sprayed for mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus.

UPDATE 10:25 a.m. EDT — Controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio is expected to win his Republican primary Tuesday, according to a recent a poll. But he may soon face far more diffucult challenges.

The Justice Department will decide if he should face criminal contempt-of-court charges, according to a ruling filed in U.S. District Court Friday. "'America’s toughest sheriff' kept racially profiling Latinos, now faces criminal prosecution," read the Washington Post's headline. And while he is expected to win easily Tuesday, come November, Arpaio is expected to face his toughest re-election yet against Democratic candidate Paul Penzone.

UPDATE 9:40 a.m. EDT — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who faces a primary vote Tuesday, won't commit to serving out a full six-year Senate term.

"No one can make the commitment because you don’t know what the future is going to hold in your life personally or politically," Rubio said in an interview with CNN posted online. "I can commit to you this, that I am running to be a U.S. senator. I am fully prepared to allow the U.S. Senate to be the last political office I ever hold."

Earlier this year, Rubio failed in his bid to earn the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and later walked back his commitment to return to life as a private citizen should his presidential run prove unsuccessful.

UPDATE 9:10 a.m. EDT — There are a couple of close primary races set to play out Tuesday that will affect Congressional seats eyed by both parties for November's general election.

In November, Democratic Reps. Patrick Murphy of Florida and Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona are expected to face off for Senate seats against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Arizona Sen. John McCain if they win their primary races Tuesday. That leaves a couple of key House seats up for grabs and some of the primary votes Tuesday are considered wide open. For Murphy's 18th district, six Republicans and three Democrats are squaring off in intra-party contests. Democrats have rallied behind Tom O’Halleran in Kirkpatrick's Arizona district. Republicans, meanwhile, have a six-person race in the district, led by Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu and Air Force Veteran Wendy Rogers, according to Morning Consult.

"Whoever comes out will be bloody and broke," Matt Thornton, the communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said about the Florida and Arizona contests, to Morning Consult.

Original story:

Voters in Florida and Arizona took to the polls Tuesday in primaries in the two key battleground states ahead of the November presidential and Senate races. The Election Day results could bring to a close a number of tight contests that could decide which political party controls Congress in January.

There are some marquee names on the ballots, chief among them: Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, and Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.

After Rubio fell short in his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, which went to Donald Trump, he backtracked on a prior decision to not seek Senate re-election. But Rubio quickly rallied in the primary race and now both he and McCain are expected to win Tuesday night.

Rubio is facing off against "Carlos Beruff, who has adopted a baldly Trumpian approach," wrote the Washington Post. But unlike in his race against Trump, Rubio appears to hold a comfortable lead in the polls.

Wasserman Schultz, meanwhile, is up against college professor Tim Canova, who the Post wrote is picking up supporters of Bernie Sanders over Wasserman Schultz's former position as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair. Leaked emails seemed to show the DNC leader favored Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over Sanders, forcing Wasserman Schultz to resign from the national organization that helps elect Democrats.

In Arizona, Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a tough re-election as the top law enforcer in metro Phoenix. He faces three Republican challengers in the primary amid continued legal troubles in a racial profiling case.