John McCain’s Old Seat and Shuddup
Probably floating around somewhere in the back of your mind is the name Martha McSally. Martha ran for the senate in Arizona against a woman who eventually became the chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party, Kelli Ward.
During the race, Ward questioned then-Congresswoman McSally’s loyalty to the president and labeled her as Jeff Flake 2.0, the former Republican Senator who developed a reputation for denouncing Trump’s breaches of decorum while supporting most of his policies.
McSally wasn’t Trumpy enough for Ward. McSally won the primary but lost the general election to the Democrat.
The tricky part comes here: Arizona Republican governor Doug Ducey also disagreed with Trump. McSally and Ducey became friends.
When John McCain died, Ducey appointed McSally to finish his term.
But, and this is the fun part, McSally has an opponent – Mark Kelly, the astronaut.
So Ward, who is still the chairwoman of the Arizona GOP, is getting even by slapping around McSally.
Arizona Republican Chairwoman Kelli Ward said she wishes GOP elected officials, specifically Senator Martha McSally, “would just be quiet” when they disagree with President Donald Trump, according to audio obtained by Phoenix New Times on Monday.
Ward made the comments on June 12 during a Mohave Republican Forum meeting in Kingman. She criticized McSally for publicly splitting with Trump on his threat to impose tariffs on Mexico, saying the senator should have privately expressed her concerns to the White House.
Well, the reason McSally opposed the tariffs is because they hurt the hell out of Arizona.
So, there ya go with Mark Kelly entering the race with 2 strikes in his favor: (1) Republican infighting, and (2) a damaged Arizona economy.
Sometimes things just work together your way.
I gave to Mark Kelly’s campaign. I’d like to see McSally without a job.
1As much as I hope for Mark Kelly’s election, I won’t sleep well until all the votes are counted.
2What? No one has jumped on tis with the word “hormones”?
Very best of luck to Mark!
3Kelly is a strong candidate, former astronaut, engineer, Navy captain and is married to Gabby Giffords.
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