Republican John McCain and Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick are tied at 43 percent support each in their race for McCain’s U.S. Senate seat, a survey out Thursday showed. Unlike six years ago when he faced something of a gadfly opponent in the form of former Congressman J.D. Hayworth this time around he was challenged by Kelli Ward, a more credible albeit incredibly inexperienced one-term state legislator who had the backing of Tea Party and Trump supporters. His opponent, Kelli Ward, came at Trump from his right on immigration. And while one recent poll in Arizona gives Democrat Hillary Clinton a 1-point lead over Trump, hot on the heels of a CNN/ORC poll showing Trump with a thin 5-point lead – it’s in a state that Democratic presidential candidates have carried only once in the last 10 elections (the sole exception was in 1996, when Bill Clinton was running for re-election).
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Both sides have associated their rival with their party’s presidential candidate.
McCain’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“My opponent, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, is a good person”.
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.
McCain fended off a primary challenge by state Sen.
“It’s hard to say he’s not one of us, when you have all the Republican leaders saying of course he is”, Molera said.
Rubio and McCain are supporting Trump for president, albeit with obvious reluctance after they were the target of his insults and Rubio ran against Trump for the White House.
Rubio fired back, insulting Trump on everything from his hair color and the size of his hands to misspelled words in tweets.
Former state senator and physician Kelli Ward ran her campaign on securing the Mexico border and national security, with an emphasis on changing the status quo in Washington. He repeatedly avoided calling Trump by name, instead saying he’ll support his party’s nominee.
Kirkpatrick did not have a challenger in Tuesday’s primary.
Experienced lawmen say change needed; victor will chalenge Democratic incumbent.
Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but at the moment I’d say that McCain is probably a safe bet to keep his seat regardless of what happens at the Presidential level.
In the November 8 general election, Kirkpatrick is facing Sen.
Key races include the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate and contests for U.S. House nominations in congressional districts across the state.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu defeated four other Republicans in a sprawling that spans much of eastern Arizona outside the Tucson and Phoenix metro areas.
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In a video released Wednesday, McCain hinted at what some Republicans anticipate will become a common down-ballot strategy: asking voters to send Republicans to Congress as a check against a Democratic presidency.
