Arizona: As he gears up to seek a sixth term, Republican Sen. John McCain may have fights on his hands in both the primary and the general election. In 2010, former U.S. Rep. J.D. Hayworth challenged McCain in the GOP primary, arguing that the incumbent is too moderate. McCain prevailed though with 56 percent to 32 percent for Hayworth. McCain won the general election with 59 percent. Conservatives remain committed to trying to retire McCain and there have been a number of Republicans mentioned as potential primary candidates, including U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon and Dave Schweikert; neither seems especially enthusiastic about taking on the incumbent. The most serious candidate to date is state Sen. Kelli Ward, who has formed an exploratory committee. McCain takes little for granted and been working the grassroots to improve his chances in a primary; he orchestrated the replacement of many of the party’s precinct chairs that were affiliated with the Tea Party. He has also staked conservative positions on some hot-button issues like immigration; he is pushing legislation to increase border security. As for the
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.