Republican’s lead shrinks to 341 in battle for Giffords seat

Former Air Force pilot Martha McSally’s (R) lead against Rep. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.) has shrunk to 341 votes as Arizona continues to count ballots.

{mosads}McSally now leads Barber by less than one-fifth of 1 percent of the more than 214,000 ballots cast, leading to one of the closest House races in the country for the second cycle in a row.

Barber serrved as staffer for former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), replacing her when she retired from Congress. Both were wounded when a gunman shot up a 2011 Giffords event, killing 6.

McSally nearly defeated Barber in 2012 and both parties keyed in on the district as a top target this year, making the race between Barber and McSally one of the most expensive and hard-fought in the nation.

Both Pima and Cochise counties are still counting ballots, with roughly 6,500 still outstanding from Pima, according to local reports. 

This post was updated at 12:20 p.m.