On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey selected former Sen. Jon Kyl to fill the vacant Senate seat left behind by John McCain, who died last month. Kyl, 76, served three terms in the Senate, during which he compiled an extremely conservative voting record and ultimately joined the top ranks of GOP leadership before retiring ahead of the 2012 elections. Kyl also earned a measure of infamy in 2011 when, after wrongly declaring that abortion services were "well over 90 percent of what Planned Parenthood does," his office anticipated the Trump era and claimed his comment "was not intended to be a factual statement."
Kyl's appointment would last until 2020, when a special election would be held for the final two years of McCain's term, followed by a regular election for a six-year term in 2022. But not only did Kyl say he wouldn’t run for office again, he may not even last the full two years: Kyl also said he has committed to serving "through at least the second session of the 115th Congress," i.e., the current session of Congress, which ends on Jan. 3. That abbreviated timeframe would nevertheless give him the chance to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court—a process for which Kyl rather conveniently has been Kavanaugh's so-called "sherpa."
Whether Kyl sticks around beyond that may depend on Ducey's fate. Ducey faces a competitive re-election challenge this year from Democrat David Garcia, so if Ducey loses, that would probably incline Kyl to stay put lest Garcia get to pick a replacement. (Under Arizona law, Garcia would be required to pick someone "of the same political party as the person vacating the office," but the statute offers no specifics beyond that, so he could choose a Republican in name only.) Of course, in that scenario, Kyl could bail just before Garcia were to be sworn in, giving Ducey a second crack.
But why the short commitment from Kyl in the first place? It's hard to say, but here's a theory: If GOP Rep. Martha McSally, who is running for Kyl's old Senate seat (now open thanks to Sen. Jeff Flake's retirement), loses this fall to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, Ducey could then appoint her in Kyl's stead. McSally would then be able to run in the special election in 2020 as the incumbent. We'll just have to see what happens in November.