Republican Sen. John McCain won an easy victory over his primary challenger on Tuesday in Arizona, defeating former state Sen.
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PHOENIX (AP) – In a year of political outsiders, two of the most prominent and longest-serving Arizona Republicans bucked the trend and easily beat back primary challenges.
At one point during the 2016 election cycle, John McCain was seen as one of the Republican Senators most vulnerable to a primary challenge. “But if Hillary Clinton is elected president, Arizona will need a senator who will act as a check – not a rubber stamp”, McCain said, ticking off issues including taxes, the military, Supreme Court justices and President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The contest between Ward and McCain was often overshadowed by Trump and his outspoken comments. He has repeatedly avoided calling Trump by name, instead saying he’ll support his party’s nominee. “But we did what we could with very limited resources and it’s been awesome”.
Arpaio won the Republican primary despite a cloud of legal troubles hanging over him. He trounced three opponents with little money after raising $11.3 million – a staggering sum for a sheriff’s race. He will face retired Phoenix police Officer Paul Penzone, who is the same opponent who took him on in 2012.
McCain has been campaigning hard in recent weeks and made one last stop Monday at a Phoenix fire station before meeting with campaign workers to urge them to make a final push to victory.
“Let’s clearly state our goal this morning: It is to put a Republican back in the White House and a Republican vice president back in Washington, D.C. and those Republicans are Donald Trump and Mike Pence”, he said at the time.
“He has the influence that is needed to keep Arizona great”, he said. While McCain started attacking her months ago, Arizona Grassroots Action delighted in calling attention to Ward’s affinity for conspiracy theories, mocking her for supporting “oddball bills” in a digital ad past year. In any case, McCain now heads into a General Election battle with a stronger Democratic opponent than he has faced in most of his re-election battles to date.
In two sentences, McCain is betting that people believe Clinton is going to win in November.
All nine U.S. House seats also are on the primary ballot, though just a few are tight races.
McCain, 80, and Arpaio, 84, will face tough challenges from Democrats in November.
A heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs, for instance, featured 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 gave an upbeat speech to supporters, but the race remained too close to call late Tuesday.
– In the state’s First District, Paul Babeu won the Republican vote.
The other statewide race features a five-way race among Republicans seeking three seats on the state’s utility regulation panel, the Arizona Corporation Commission.
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FILE – In this December 18, 2013, file photo, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio speaks at a news conference at the Sheriff’s headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz.
