Until now, Sen. John McCain has almost completely ignored ex-state Sen. Kelli Ward, his Aug. 30 GOP primary opponent. While the pro-McCain super PAC Arizona Grassroots Action has aired a series of commercials against Ward, McCain has focused his fire on Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick ahead of the general election. But something seems to have changed, since Politico has gotten ahold of a McCain TV spot that attacks Ward for the first time.
McCain runs with the same message as his allied super PAC, with the narrator insisting that, “In a dangerous world, Arizona can’t afford Kelli Ward in the Senate.” She goes on to accuse Ward of opposing fully funding the military, says that Ward “tried to stop local law enforcement from working with counter-terrorism officials,” and features a snippet of Ward saying she’d respond to ISIS with “restraint and realism.” The rest of the commercial praises McCain on national security.
It’s not clear why McCain is launching a late attack on Ward. While McCain has a horrible relationship with his party’s base, Ward doesn’t look strong enough to capitalize on his problems. Ward has raised very little money, and she’s received no support from major outside groups. A pro-Ward super PAC did recently launch a $500,000 ad against McCain, but that’s still chump change compared to the $1.9 million that Arizona Grassroots Action has shelled out so far. The only recent poll we’ve seen, a Data Orbital survey that the group says was not conducted for any clients (though the firm’s owner clearly is rooting for McCain), gave the senator a wide 50-29 lead.
It’s possible McCain is just being cautious ahead of the primary. But polls show McCain locked in a competitive race with Kirkpatrick, and it’s unlikely he’d expend resources against Ward if he thought victory was assured. Ward is undoubtably a weak candidate but McCain may have just burned so many bridges with his party over the years that even she’s giving him a tough time.
Let's make John McCain worry about his general election too. Please chip in $3 for Ann Kirkpatrick.