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Trump Card Played in Arizona Senate Race

Posted on
March 3, 2016
by Agree Staff
In 2010 and 2012, Republicans hurt their chances of winning the Senate by nominating bad candidates (see: Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, and more). After finally capturing the upper chamber in 2014, the last thing Republican leaders want is to lose control of the Senate in 2016 because of a poor candidate atop the ticket.

As Donald Trump moves closer to capturing the Republican presidential nomination, those fears are becoming increasingly urgent. While some Republicans are seeking to create distance, Democrats are prepared to tie every member of the GOP to Trump.

One would think that Arizona Senator John McCain, who is up for reelection in November, stretches the limits of this strategy. The 2008 presidential candidate is already well known amongst his constituents, and over the years has earned a reputation as a “maverick.” But McCain’s likely general election opponent, Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, makes a compelling case in a new ad that Democratic campaigns around the country will surely be paying attention to.

Playing the Trump Card

The ad starts off by warning, “Donald Trump is dangerous for America.” It makes that case throughout the minute-long ad with all the “highlights” of Trump on the campaign trail: boasting about shooting someone on 5th Avenue, advocating torture, vulgar comments about Megyn Kelly, and the like. It also includes a news headline referring to the controversy surrounding Trump’s refusal to disavow the KKK.

The ad connects those comments back to McCain: “But no matter what Donald Trump says, John McCain would support him for President.” The ad includes three separate interviews with McCain in which he confirms that he will support whoever is the Republican nominee for president, including Trump. It informs viewers that even Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is distancing himself from Trump, but McCain will not.

As you may recall, one of Trump’s most controversial remarks during the campaign came when he disparaged McCain’s war service, saying, “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.” The ad actually leans into those comments, saying that even after Trump made them, McCain repeated, “I’ll vote for the Republican nominee obviously. I’m a loyal Republican."

The ad doesn’t shy away from McCain’s maverick reputation either. “There was a time when country mattered more than his political party,” it says, digging up his 2008 presidential bid’s “Country First” slogan. “But 30 years in Washington have changed John McCain.”

The ad concludes by promising Ann Kirkpatrick as a leader who will stand up to Donald Trump.

Knocking off John McCain seems like a longshot, but the Kirkpatrick campaign is hoping that successfully connecting him to Donald Trump will hurt his standing with independents and moderates in the general election. Stay tuned to I Agree to See to track if more Democratic House and Senate candidates start adopting a similar strategy.
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