Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and his primary challenger, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, have spent today touting their support from Tea Party activists in Arizona, with each claiming that they are by far the Tea Partiest Republican in the Arizona Senate race.
In a press release from the McCain campaign, Yavapai Tea Party board member Jennifer Campbell praised McCain for fighting President Obama’s stimulus and health care programs — and savaged Hayworth.
“I know Congressman Hayworth to be a good man, but during his 12 years in Washington, he requested hundreds of millions of dollars in pork barrel earmarks, and voted for billions more,” said Campbell. “Congressman Hayworth also voted for Medicare Part D, a massive expansion of an already enormous government entitlement program. With that vote alone, he burdened future generations of Americans with trillions of dollars in debt. After his constituents voted him out of office, Congressman Hayworth was paid to pitch ‘free government money’ in a late-night television infomercial. Those aren’t Tea Party values.”
Meanwhile, the Hayworth camp announced that a group of Tea Partiers from Arizona had endorsed the ex-Congressman. From Team Hayworth’s statement:
In part, the Groups’ joint endorsement reads:
⢠There is only one U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona who has put his promises in writing, when he signed the Contract from America.
⢠There is only one U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona who has repeatedly told us to ‘vote him out’ if he has not kept his promises.
⢠There is only one U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona who has already given us solid evidence that he will not support amnesty policies, and will make border security and enforcement of illegal immigration laws his first priority. Proof of his promise is in the fact that he led the fight against the McCain-Feingold amnesty bill in 2002.
⢠There is only one U.S. Senate candidate in Arizona who has already given us solid evidence of his fiscal conservative values when he helped author the Bush tax cuts in 2001 which his opponent opposed.
⢠Although other Arizona U.S. Senate candidates have sought our support and endorsements, we collectively have chosen the only candidate who has proven leadership ability, and the resilience to overcome obstacles to be our voice in Washington, D.C.
It appears that there could be a mistake in the press release. “McCain-Feingold” refers to the campaign-finance reform law passed in 2002. McCain’s work on immigration, which certainly has riled up the GOP base, was also known as “McCain-Kennedy.”
The TPM Poll Average gives McCain a lead of 53.6%-32.1% over Hayworth. The primary will be held on August 24.
