The Senate race in Arizona is coming down to the wire with Republican candidate, former fighter pilot Rep. Martha McSally. in a fierce battle with Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
Sinema has been trying to hide her radical past as a Green Party spokesperson and anti-war activist. This has proven to be easy pickings for McSally, who roasted the Democrat at a barbecue on Friday night.
The former fighter pilot credited President Donald Trump for the strong unemployment numbers: “People are asking themselves, ‘do I feel better off than a couple of years ago? The answer is yes.’ Because America, and Arizona, are back.”
Trump has seized on immigration with a hardline message in the final days of the midterm, vowing to attempt a revocation of the constitutional amendment that grants citizenship to those born in the United States. McSally made only passing mention of the issue on Friday night, vowing that “we are going to secure our border.”
But the message that she and other top Republicans offered, after they helped serve dinner to backers at Arizona’s state GOP headquarters, was focused on staying the course in a historically red state where Ducey is expected to cruise to reelection next week. Green Party candidate Angela Green’s decision to drop out of the race Thursday and endorse Sinema provided new fodder for McSally, who has accused Sinema of condoning “treason” and continues to target the Democrat for shifting to the center after serving as a Green Party spokeswoman herself during the 2000 election.
After jokingly referring to Sinema as the Green Party candidate, McSally added: “I’m sorry, the former green party activist – who’s in the liberal witness protection program right now. She’s continuing to hide but it just shows her true colors, right?”
Sinema has successfully been running away from the national Democratic Party, saying she would not support Chuck Schumer for Senate Democratic leader and supporting Trump’s decision to send troops to the southern border.
But McSally could have her cornered with this latest attack. Earlier this week, the Green Party candidate dropped out of the race, urging her supporters to back Sinema. This isn’t surprising since the Green candidate, Angela Green, is pulling in about 1 percent of the vote and Sinema was a spokesperson for the party in 2000.
Sinema isn’t the only Democratic candidate in a red state running as a “moderate.” In fact, there are many Democrats who have a chance to win who have remained silent on support for a single-payer health plan and government-funded college for all. But you know when Democratic leaders crack the whip, these “moderate” Democrats will fall in line as eagerly as any liberal.
McSally’s embrace of Trump, after a period where she kept her distance, just may allow her to eke out a victory in Arizona.
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