The Senate race between Ann Kirkpatrick and John McCain has reached a new milestone.

The U.S. Senate race in Arizona between Republican incumbent John McCain and Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick has reached a new milestone: For the first time since Kirkpatrick announced she was challenging McCain, polls show the two candidates tied at 48 percent.

For months, Kirkpatrick has been slowly catching up to McCain, but data released today from the latest Rocky Mountain Poll shows she’s actually devouring – if not overtaking — his lead among important demographic groups like rural voters, Republicans, and women.

In general, residents of rural counties in Arizona tend to vote Republican, but as of this week, McCain has lost his lead there, meaning that for the first time this election season, more rural voters say they plan to support Kirkpatrick than McCain — 43 percent to 39 percent.