By Kayla LaRosa 10/21/16
Republican Sen. John McCain is facing some challenges in his pursuit of reelection for his sixth term in the senate since denouncing GOP Presidential Nominee Donald Trump for his inappropriate sexual comments towards women in the infamously viral leaked 2005 video. The 80-year-old Arizona Senator, who has stood by Trump’s crude and bombastic comments in the past, is now facing heat after saying that he can no longer offer his support to a Presidential candidate who has made “demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults.”
After a campaign career of five Senate races, two House races, and two Presidential bids, McCain finds himself in yet another political battle in the state of Arizona with Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. While McCain has a relatively solid lead in the polls, his lack of support for Donald Trump could be detrimental to his potential success in the remainder of the Senate race.
McCain’s comments have not been favorable among conservatives and potential Republican voters, eager for the GOP to claim the 2016 election and for Trump to take the presidency. McCain’s name is often met with boos at Trump’s political rallies and many are unwilling to back his candidacy.
This is not the first time Trump and McCain have clashed. Trump has been criticized for his comments on the Arizona Senator and Vietnam War veteran, saying that McCain is not a war hero due to his capture. McCain has also denounced Trump’s remarks about NATO, and most recently, his debate statement about refusing to accept the election results if he loses.
McCain and his rival Kirkpatrick disagree on several critical issues, such as foreign relations and healthcare, and have been airing slanderous advertisements against one another in the state of Arizona. Regardless of his lack of support for Trump, it seems McCain may come out of the race with a victory. “John McCain knows more about what is going on in the world and how to deal with it than anybody in the United States Congress,” Republican Lisa Graham Keegan said. “And Congresswoman Kirkpatrick is a nice woman, but she can’t touch John McCain’s experience in the world or the respect that the rest of the world has for him.”