U.S. senatorial candidate and U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., celebrates her primary election victory, Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2018, in Tempe, Ariz. McSally will face U.S. Rep. Krysten Sinema, D-Ariz., in the November election as they seek the seat of retiring U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
If you hadn’t been following the Arizona senate race, you were probably surprised last night when the relatively unmentioned Martha McSally romped to a win in a three person field. Not only did McSally pull in a majority of the votes cast, she trounced here nearest competitor, Kelli Ward, by nearly 25 points. In short, it wasn’t really a contest.
From NYT https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/28/us/elections/arizona-primary-elections.html
But it was portrayed as a highly competitive race by parts of the media:
Rep. Martha McSally — facing competitive GOP primary in Arizona next Tues. against Kelli Ward & Joe Arpaio for US Senate nomination — already looking ahead to the general; released new ad with shot at likely Dem opponent Kyrsten Sinema (ad via @Kantar_Media) pic.twitter.com/dLXEHkLsOz
— David Wright (@DavidWright_7) August 23, 2018
Who is this McSally person? I haven’t heard of her because national network and web media have been talking about the crazy lady she beat for the past two weeks https://t.co/8Hyo8RXwdU
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 29, 2018
Who wants to compare national media coverage for Kelli Ward & Martha McSally for last two weeks leading up to this primary vote? I’m guessing “media reporter” (currently on vacation) @brianstelter won’t be the guy.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 29, 2018
My network propped up the crazy candidate for weeks to prove conservatives are crazy conspiracy racists
Conservatives ignore national media attention & vote for McSally
See this just proves conservatives lost. https://t.co/r9znlSQyau
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 29, 2018
For months, the media has given massive coverage to Kelli Ward and fringe candidate, Joe Arpaio, to give the impression of a fragmented GOP dominated by candidates with fairly exotic beliefs.
those people were not “more conservative” https://t.co/ZaPW1afuV1
— Ben Sasse (@BenSasse) August 29, 2018
Key takeaways. Nominating McSally increases the odds that Jeff Flake’s seat will stay in GOP hands. McSally is infinitely more disciplined, if nowhere near as interesting, as Ward and Arpaio. Arizona was Trump +4 in 2016 and McSally will not only pull in most of the primary vote that went against her, she won’t provide a focal point for anti-Trump anger as Ward and Arpaio would.
So far, McSally has voted with President Trump’s desired outcomes 97% of the time. She could very well end up being another Jeff Flake, but the better odds are that she will be something more like Lindsey Graham than Flake or Murkowski or Collins.
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