MSNBC and Fox News called Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to win the U.S. Senate race in Arizona on Tuesday night, affirming recent polling, showing the incumbent ahead of Democratic challenger Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ) by double-digit margins.
McCain’s projected victory in the Grand Canyon State will assist Senate Republicans in their attempts to maintain majority control. The incumbent senator distinguished himself amongst GOP senators up for reelection as one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump.
McCain has held a solid lead over Kirkpatrick in polls of Arizona’s Senate race since late August, with TPM’s PollTracker Average showing a massive lead for McCain, 53.6 to Kirkpatrick’s 44.9.
The incumbent Senator maintained popularity in Arizona’s polls in spite of a rocky relationship with his party’s presidential nominee.
McCain originally endorsed Donald Trump, but then rescinded his endorsement following the release of a video of Trump bragging about his ability to assault women.
The senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee also criticized Trump for attacking the family of U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, a Muslim-American solider who was killed fighting in Iraq, and recently stated the businessman should “suffer the consequences” for his explicit and demeaning comments.
Trump responded by calling the senator “foul-mouthed,” and taking credit for McCain’s victory in Arizona’s Republican primary.
