February 03, 2010 As former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R) readies a campaign against Sen. John McCain (R), he'll be running without the support of his former colleagues in the Arizona Republican Congressional delegation. All, including Sen. Jon Kyl, are lining up behind the state's senior senator ahead of the August primary.
Rep. Jeff Flake (R) told RCP last week that in a year in which fiscal policy is a paramount concern for voters, no one will be able to challenge McCain's record on that issue.
"When it comes to the prescription drug benefit, whether it's farm bills, transportation bills, appropriations bills - McCain can point at his record and say he was opposed to that. It'll be more difficult for Hayworth to do that," Flake said.
The former presidential candidate can point primary voters to his strong opposition to the Obama agenda, Flake argued.
"I think people will look at records ... and say were it not for McCain and some others in the Senate, the election in Massachusetts would not have meant as much, because health care would have passed," Flake said. "It was the Senate that held that up, and John
McCain was a big, big part of that."
Hayworth has telegraphed that he plans to challenge McCain from his right, calling himself a "consistent conservative." McCain has been vigorously responding already, and Flake says he can withstand those attacks.
"John McCain's support is both wider and deeper than people give him credit for. He works campaigns hard - he's a tireless campaigner. So I think he'll do fine," he said.
The Congressional delegation will be part of the campaign's leadership team, which will be rolled out soon. McCain has already been endorsed in Arizona by eight county sheriffs and the
Arizona Chamber of Commerce. His national support is led by his former running mate, Sarah Palin, as well as Sen.-elect Scott Brown and Steve Forbes.
All of which is to say, Hayworth has an uphill fight on his hands as he starts to roll out his campaign.
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