Incumbent Republican senator John McCain lost his bid for President of the United States in the 2008 election on November 4, 2008. By November 18, he had indicated his intention to form a political action committee to run for Senate re-election in 2010.[2][3] McCain confirmed his decision at a press conference in Phoenix, Arizona, on November 25, 2008, saying, "I intend to run again and will make an announcement at an appropriate time."[4] In his appearance, McCain made a point of shifting from discussion of national issues to local ones,[5] and followed up with renewed attention to the state during the next few months.[6] In February 2009, McCain began active fundraising efforts for his re-election campaign.[7]
McCain faced a possible Republican primary challenge.[5] He had won less than half the votes against the field of candidates in the 2008 Arizona Republican presidential primary,[5] and had only won the presidential contest in Arizona by 8.5 percentage points.[4] The person most mentioned as a possible primary challenger was radio talk show host and former U.S. Congressman J. D. Hayworth, who was being urged to run by his listeners.[5] (Hayworth had once been allied with McCain and had supported his 2000 presidential campaign, but the two diverged ideologically shortly thereafter.)[8] However, McCain's strong opposition to the economic stimulus package of 2009 warmed some conservatives to him and made a primary challenge less likely.[6]
As 2009 progressed, McCain got two announced primary challengers, U.S. Navy veteran and businessman Jim Deakin,[9] and Chris Simcox, the co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.[10] Simcox's April 2009 announcement of his candidacy garnered a fair amount of press attention; he stated that "John McCain has failed miserably in his duty to secure this nation's borders and protect the people of Arizona from the escalating violence and lawlessness. ... Coupled with his votes for reckless bailout spending and big government solutions to our nation's problems, John McCain is out of touch with everyday Arizonans. Enough is enough."[11]
In October 2009, Hayworth said that he was considering a primary challenge: "There's a great deal of respect for John as a historical figure. But he's long been at odds with the conservative base of the Republican Party and more recently with Arizonans."[12] Hayworth quoted a poll which said that 61 percent of Arizona Republicans thought McCain had lost touch with his party.[12] McCain had raised $4.7million for his Senate re-election, and had access to more than $20million left over from his 2008 presidential effort.[12] A November 2009 Rasmussen Reports poll surprisingly showed that Hayworth was nearly even with McCain among likely Republican Party primary voters in the state.[13] As January 2010 progressed, McCain began running negative ads against Hayworth.[14] On January 22, 2010, Hayworth resigned from his talk radio position at KFYI, a necessary step to becoming a candidate.[14][15] On January 23, Hayworth announced at a meeting of the Arizona Republican Party State Committee that he did intend to run, and that a formal announcement would be forthcoming soon.[14][15]
As the contest began, some elements of the Tea Party movement supported Hayworth, but others stayed out of the contest,[16] and still others supported Jim Deakin. The threat from Hayworth helped account for McCain's sometimes-awkward reversals or softpedallings of his former positions on issues such as the bank bailouts, national security, campaign finance reform, and gays in the military; Hayworth said, "John is undergoing a campaign conversion."[8] McCain remained strong among party centrists and independents, and had strong financial resources.[8] McCain also had the endorsements of the entire Arizona congressional delegation.[17] Regardless, pundits predicted it would become "one of the country's fiercest political contests of 2010."[18]
Hayworth officially launched his bid on February 15, 2010, in Phoenix.[19] His announcement led Simcox to drop his campaign and endorse Hayworth, saying that he wanted to present a united conservative front.[19] Hayworth attracted the support of a good number of top-rated radio talk show hosts, including Michael Savage.[20] Hayworth called for a series of 10 debates between himself and McCain.[21] This echoed a proposal that McCain had unsuccessfully made to Obama during their 2008 presidential campaign; this time, McCain labeled the idea a "desperate publicity stunt."[21] With Hayworth using the campaign slogan "The Consistent Conservative," McCain backed off his reputation for unorthodoxy, saying, "I never considered myself a maverick. I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities."[22] McCain's former vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, staged a campaign appearance with him in late March; she said that McCain was deserving of support among Tea Party movement-types.[23] Many in the crowd came to see Palin rather than McCain and were unsure of whom they would vote for in the primary.[23]
Both candidates endorsed Arizona SB 1070, the anti-illegal immigration state law passed in April 2010 that aroused national controversy, and both made tough stands on border control central to their campaigns.[24] McCain retained a financial edge, having $4.6million in hand at the end of the first quarter to Hayworth's $861,000.[24]
Hayworth's campaign began to struggle when infomercials he had made in 2007 came to light, which had pitched access to free government payment programs from a company that was accused of swindling thousands of people.[25] McCain ran television ads that labeled Hayworth a "huckster", and in return Hayworth's wife charged McCain with engaging in deliberate character assassination.[25] Hayworth also had difficulty rallying conservative backing due to his past support for Congressional earmarks and for his past associations with lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff.[25]
Hayworth was further harmed by stating that the United States never declared war on Germany during the Second World War,[26] when in fact it did on December 11, 1941.
During the summer, McCain began running immigration-themed ads featuring Pinal County sheriff Paul Babeu, a strong supporter of SB 1070; however, Hayworth asked McCain to withdraw the ads because Babeu had recently appeared on the white nationalist radio show The Political Cesspool.[27]
Many considered popular Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano a possible Democratic challenger to McCain, and some very early polling showed her ahead or competitive with him in a prospective 2010 matchup.[2][56] Napolitano was term-limited as governor in 2010, and had openly discussed the possibility of a Senate race,[2] especially given McCain's 2008 electoral results in the Democratic-trending state.[4]
In February 2009, Arizona Senate minority leader Jorge Luis Garcia was saying: "There hasn't been any discussion about any [candidates]. The Democratic Party would be willing to lend support to a candidate against Senator McCain. It would be very expensive—very, very, very expensive."[6] In April 2009, only one person had announced a candidacy, Rudy Garcia, the former mayor of Bell Gardens, California.[59] In October 2009, national Democratic leaders were saying that they were not bothering to recruit anyone to face McCain,[12] but that same month, Tucson Councilman Rodney Glassman filed an exploratory committee for this Senate seat at the urging of Arizona Attorney General and Arizona gubernatorial candidate Terry Goddard.[60]
After spending over $20million during the primaries, McCain still had more than $1million cash on hand after the primary election. Glassman criticized McCain on women's issues.[71] In August 2010, Glassman released a TV advertisement called "Arizona First."[72]
Debates
September 26: All four candidates on KTVK-TV in Phoenix.[73] It ran without commercial interruption from 6pm to 7pm[74]
John Sidney McCain III was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms in the United States House of Representatives and was the Republican nominee for president of the United States in the 2008 election, which he lost to Barack Obama.
John David Hayworth Jr. is an American television host and former politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2007 from Arizona's 5th Congressional District. He currently hosts Newsmax Prime, a television news/talk prime time show that airs weekdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on Newsmax TV. Previously, he hosted a conservative talk radio program on KFYI in Phoenix until January 2010, when he resigned due to his run for the U.S. Senate.
John McCain ran for U.S. president in the 2000 presidential election, but failed to gain the Republican Party nomination, losing to George W. Bush in a campaign that included a bitter battle during the South Carolina primary. He resumed his role representing Arizona in the U.S. Senate in 2001, and Bush won the election. Bush was President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. McCain won re-election to the Senate in 2004, 2010 and 2016.
Senator John McCain, the Republican Party nominee, was endorsed or supported by some members of the Democratic Party and by some political figures holding liberal views in the 2008 United States presidential election. McCain Democrat and McCainocrat are terms applied to Democrats who supported McCain.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Kansas took place on November 2, 2010, alongside other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Senator Sam Brownback did not seek a third full term, but instead successfully ran for Governor of Kansas.
The 2010 United States Senate election in Florida took place on November 2, 2010, concurrently with other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2008 United States presidential election in Arizona took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. Voters chose 10 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 2010 United States Senate election in New Hampshire was held on November 2, 2010, alongside other midterm elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as to the United States House of Representatives. Primaries were held on September 14. Incumbent Senator Judd Gregg (R) retired instead of seeking a fourth term, and was succeeded by Kelly Ayotte, who won the open seat by over 23 points.
The 2010 Arizona state elections were held on November 2, 2010, with primaries on August 24, 2010. These include gubernatorial and both sides of Congress. A special election was also on May 18 for Proposition 100.
The 2012 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 6, 2012, alongside a presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Senator Jon Kyl (R), the Senate Minority Whip, decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term. U.S. Representative Jeff Flake (R) won the open seat. As of 2024, this was the last time that a Republican won Arizona's Class 1 Senate seat.This is also the last time a Republican was elected to and served a full term in the US Senate.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts, including the newly created 9th district following the 2010 United States census. The elections coincided with other federal and state elections, including a quadrennial presidential election, and a U.S. Senate election. Primary elections were held on August 28, 2012.
The 2014 Arizona gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor of Arizona, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 8, 2016, to elect a member of the U.S. Senate to represent the State of Arizona, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, other elections to the U.S. Senate in other states and elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as various state and local elections.
Kelli Ward is an American politician who served as the chair of the Arizona Republican Party from 2019 to 2023. She previously served in the Arizona State Senate from 2013 to 2015.
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona were held on November 8, 2016, to elect the nine U.S. representatives from the state of Arizona, one from each of the state's nine congressional districts. The elections coincided with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections. The primaries were held on August 30.
The 2018 United States Senate election in Arizona took place on November 6, 2018. Incumbent Republican Senator Jeff Flake did not seek reelection to a second term. The election was held concurrently with a gubernatorial election, other elections to the U.S. Senate, elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, and various other state and local elections.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Arizona on November 6, 2018. All of Arizona's executive offices were up for election as well as a United States Senate seat and all of Arizona's nine seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Republican Party won the majority of statewide offices, albeit by much narrower margins than in previous elections, while the Democratic Party picked up three statewide offices.
The 2020 United States Senate special election in Arizona was held on November 3, 2020, following the death in office of incumbent Republican U.S. Senator John McCain on August 25, 2018. Governor Doug Ducey was required by Arizona law to appoint a Republican to fill the vacant seat until a special election winner could be sworn in. On September 5, 2018, Ducey appointed former U.S. Senator Jon Kyl to fill McCain's seat. However, Kyl announced he would resign on December 31, 2018.
The 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Arizona.
The 2024 United States Senate election in Arizona will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Arizona. Primary elections will take place on July 30, 2024.
↑ "NRA endorses McCain". June 3, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. The NRA's Political Victory Fund said Thursday it is backing the incumbent senator, ...
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