Democratic challengers jumped out to early leads in a handful of key races that could determine control of Arizona’s Senate, but the contests remain too close to call, initial results show.

Several key races in the state House remain too close to call with the first batch of Election-Day ballots counted, though Democrats, as has been the trend for the last week, are leading in early votes.

A handful of Democratic legislative candidates bolstered by out-of-state funders broke Arizona campaign finance records with just two weeks to go before the election. Democrats in swing districts pulled in six figures while their incumbent Republican opponents struggled to keep ...

Sylvia Allen is looking to once again defend her northern Arizona Senate seat, this time against Democrat Wade Carlisle.

This year is different, some Democrats say. And while they say that every year, their hope boils down to a handful of races that could decide which party controls the Senate, and perhaps increase Democrats’ share of representation in the House.

As the election comes to a close, campaign finance documents filed with the Arizona Clean Elections Commission and the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office show that, with only one statewide race, outside spending is in state and legislative elections is way down from 2014.

Democratic voters trail their Republican counterparts in returning their early ballots, but they’ve narrowed the gap they had in 2012, buoying the beleaguered minority party’s hopes that it’s in for a relatively good election year in historically red Arizona.

LD18 is one of four races to watch that could shake up the balance of power in the Senate, along with LD8, where Democrats are fighting to keep one of their own in office, as well as LD6 and LD28, where they’re hoping for an upset in traditionally Republican districts.

Sen. Sylvia Allen, a Republican from Snowflake, is leaving the Legislature to run for a seat on the Navajo County board of supervisors.