Publicly, John McCain is one of those Senate Republicans maintaining that he can run for re-election independently of Donald Trump. Privately, the senior senator from Arizona knows that's bullshit.
"If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30 percent of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life," McCain said, according to a recording of the event obtained by POLITICO. "If you listen or watch Hispanic media in the state and in the country, you will see that it is all anti-Trump. The Hispanic community is roused and angry in a way that I've never seen in 30 years." […]
"Frankly there's an element of nativism in it as well, as you know. The first wedge that Donald Trump had that gave him notoriety was, 'Build a wall,' 'rapist,' 'murderers,' etc.," McCain said at the Phoenix fundraiser in April. "And so, this is going to be a tough campaign for me."
Close observers of John McCain might remember his infamous ad from 2010 when he blamed undocumented immigrants for "home invasions [and] murders" and called for the "danged fence." Yeah. That. But that wasn't during a presidential campaign. This time around is different, Hispanic activists promise.
"The bottom line is that there is a price to be paid for belonging to a party that explicitly endorses a very virulent anti-immigrant agenda," said Kica Matos, director of immigrant rights and racial justice at the Center for Community Change Action. "You can't divorce John McCain from the person who is more likely than not the Republican presidential nominee."
Democratic challenger Ann Kirkpatrick isn't going to let McCain divorce himself from Trump, either. "Latino voters in Arizona, and especially young Latino voters, are going to play a huge role in who will represent Arizona for the next six years," she says. "They are absolutely appalled by Trump's hateful rhetoric." You can bet she's going to work hard for their support.
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