Marco Rubio wins reelection in Florida

Marco Rubio won reelection to his Senate seat, with the Associated Press calling the race just after 8 p.m. EST.

SEE MORE: In-depth coverage of the 2016 election

In what's been one of the most closely-watched Senate races of the 2016 cycle, the battle between Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and his challenger, Democratic Rep. Patrick Murphy was heated.

The seat is crucial to both Republican and Democratic hopes of controlling the Senate.

And with results pouring in from the Sunshine State, Rubio held a more than 400,000 vote lead over Murphy.

In the RealClearPolitics polling average, Rubio held a 3.7-point lead over Murphy.

Data-journalism outlet FiveThirtyEight gave Rubio a nearly 90% chance of winning the seat Tuesday.

Rubio made a failed bid for the presidency in 2016, falling well short of the nomination even though many pundits concluded early in the race that he was the favorite to win. He earlier announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate, a body he was not much of a fan of. But, he made a late June entry into the Republican primary race for his seat after a deadly nightclub shooting in Orlando.

Murphy, just 33-years-old and seeking to become the youngest member of the Senate, was a Republican himself until 2011. His business career faced intense scrutiny in the 2016 race, with reports showing Murphy had exaggerated his credentials. Still, he received plenty of help along the trail from big-name Democrats such as President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who all sought to cost Rubio his Senate seat.

Florida polls closed at 8 p.m. EST.