Kelli Ward, a tea party activist who had tried to make an issue of the 80-year-old McCain’s age, suggesting he was unfit to serve.
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While Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was seen as one of the most vulnerable Republican Senators this primary season, the longtime lawmaker secured a decisive victory in the Arizona Republican Senate primary on Tuesday.
Both Rubio, who ran for president this year, and McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, have sought to avoid clashing with Trump, lest they alienate Republican voters they will need to win in November.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump endorsed McCain in the race, but that came after the two had butted heads repeatedly after Trump made controversial statements regarding McCain’s time as a prisoner of war.
This late primary date offered a few major opportunities for insurgent candidates to ride the wave of surprisingly successful presidential contenders and take down entrenched, established politicians.
“But I just couldn’t be at peace with the idea that we were going to not just potentially lose the Senate seat but lose the balance of power in the Senate at this critical moment in our nation’s history”, he told supporters after claiming victory.
In an appearance on AZ Central ahead of the results, Republican strategist and McCain supporter Jaime Molera said local opposition to McCain was fueled by a party split over how to handle illegal immigration.
Arpaio won the Republican primary despite a cloud of legal troubles hanging over him.
“Regardless of opponent, this was always going to be a tough race”, said Jon Seaton, a GOP operative who worked on McCain’s presidential campaign eight years ago and took charge of Arizona Grassroots Action PAC with another McCain veteran, Christian Ferry.
The contest between Ward and McCain was often overshadowed by Trump and his outspoken comments. The incumbent had almost 52 percent of the vote compared to challenger Kelli Ward’s 39 percent as of Wednesday morning in the GOP Primary. He trounced his three opponents after raising $11.3 million – a staggering sum for a sheriff’s race.
“He’s a very, very active senator and when he hits the campaign trail, he puts the average person’s stamina to shame”, Cox said of McCain.
“A great American, yes”, McCain said.
“I do know what happens to the body and the mind at the end of life”, she said. She thinks McCain acts more like a Democrat and wants to grant amnesty. “McCain believes in that”.
A heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs, for instance, features a four-way race among Republicans who want to replace retiring Rep. Matt Salmon. Senate President Andy Biggs and former dot-com executive Christine Jones led the field.
And in a sweeping district that includes much of Arizona outside the Tucson and Phoenix metro areas, five Republicans are vying for the chance to advance to November and face the Democrat seeking Kirkpatrick’s seat. They are Gary Kiehne, Ken Bennett, Paul Babeu, Shawn Redd and Wendy Rogers.
And Rep. Paul Gosar won his primary in a heavily Republican district that stretches from Phoenix suburbs to the California border.
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He’ll face the Democrat seeking Kirkpatrick’s seat, Tom O’Halleran.
