Today, conservative Republican Jeff Flake (AZ-06) will announce that he will seek Junior Arizona Senator Jon Kyl's seat.
What does this mean for any potential Democratic opponents in this reddish-purple state? And just who is Jeff Flake?
First, about Jeff.
From the conservative and consistently Republican Arizona 6th (encompasses Mesa and southeast Phoenix metro area), Jeff Flake has cruised to victory in much the same way as other Arizona "safe" seats in the 2nd and 3rd districts. Since the 6th district was formed (2002), Flake has never received less than 60% of the vote. The makeup of the district is 1) heavily Mormon, and 2) racially homogenous (white).
He's in much the same mold as Trent Franks, of the western Arizona's 2nd. In these two districts, some say Satan himself could be elected if he had an (R) after his name.
Flake's record fits right in with his prospective predecessor: An early endorsement from the Club for Growth, with a 96% rating from the ACU.
Now, about what this means for us.
The conservative media and spin machine is already in high gear. Erick Erickson at RedState is already onboard:
God Bless America. Jeff Flake is In!
He’ll be my first campaign contribution for the 2012 season.
Jeff Flake is THE top tier candidate. An establishment pick, but with the outsider flair, consistently railing against "pork", "waste", "abuse". He flies under the radar, and isn't prone to the mistakes of others in the Arizona delegation (i.e. Trent Franks' birther flirtations and John Shaddegg's baby prop moments).
With Jeff Flake in the race already, with such burnished credentials AND support from the Tea Party and establishment, the race for Arizona's open Senate seat has already shifted in the Republican's favor. If we want to make this seat competitive at all, we need a real alternative that can take him on.
And we need one soon.
Updated by AZ Independent at Mon Feb 14, 2011, 12:46:26 PM
TPM now has the announcement and some analysis up: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/...