Things are beginning to look increasingly dire for Republican Sen. Jeff Flake's chances of winning a second term next year in Arizona. A recent poll from Democratic firm GBA Strategies is the latest survey to find Flake getting crushed in the Republican primary, with him trailing former state Sen. Kelli Ward by an astonishing 58-31. Flake sports an atrocious 34 percent job approval rating and 59 percent disapproval rating solely among Republicans. In a hypothetical general election matchup with Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who appears to be a likely candidate, Flake loses by 47-40. His approval rating among all voters stands at a miserable 38 percent, with 50 percent disapproving.
These numbers echo multiple recent polls from JMC Analytics and HighGround, which found Ward trouncing Flake in the primary by 47-21 and 43-28, respectively. HighGround had also tested a hypothetical general election matchup and also found Sinema beating Flake 41-33.
Arizona is still a red-leaning swing state, but Flake has tried his damnedest to piss off both swing voters and the hardline GOP base by steadfastly supporting Trumpcare while also publicly bashing Trump and taking a more moderate line on immigration than his party's leader. So far, Ward is Flake's only noteworthy primary foe, and there have been multiple reports this year of how top state Republicans and even Donald Trump himself have been searching for a more prominent challenger who doesn't come with Ward's baggage record of weak fundraising.
However, these recent polls demonstrate that even Ward may be able to knock off Flake if the Republican base is pissed at him enough, while such awful numbers for the incumbent may yet convince a more imposing challenger to join the primary. Meanwhile, Sinema hasn't joined the race yet for Democrats, but is expected to do so soon, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reportedly having told her recently that she'll have his support if she takes on Flake. There's still a long way to go until next year's late-summer primary and November general election, but Flake appears to be in for a world of hurt if he can't turn things around.