Форум
What happens to John McCain’s Senate seat? Who could succeed John McCain in the Senate?
The death of Sen. John McCain on Saturday means that Arizona now has two open Senate seats.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, will appoint a temporary replacement to represent the state in the U.S. Senate until the next general election.
Ducey has said he won’t consider appointing politicians who lobbied for McCain’s seat prematurely. “To the politicians out there that have been openly lobbying for this position, they’ve basically disqualified themselves by showing their true character,” he said in a December interview with KTAR News.
When asked in that interview whether he would consider appointing himself for the seat, Ducey suggested he would rather stay in his current role. “I want to find somebody whose desire is to be in the United States Senate and can serve Arizona well. I’m going to continue to serve as governor as long as the voters will let me,” he said.
Ducey is seeking re-election but faces a challenger in the Republican primary. Ducey’s primary opponent, Ken Bennett, has tried to make the Senate appointment a reason for conservatives to balk on the governor.
Republican consultant Sean Noble says U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, former Rep. John Shadegg and former Rep. Matt Salmon are among the possible contenders for the seat. Republican strategists and donors have also discussed former Sen. Jon Kyl and McCain’s wife, Cindy, as possible successors, the Washington Post reported.
In the past, dozens of women have succeeded their deceased husbands in Congress. Some speculate that Cindy McCain could join their ranks.
How does the race for Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat impact McCain’s replacement?
Complicating the discussion about who Ducey might appoint to McCain’s seat is the primary for Flake’s seat on Tuesday.
At the moment, Arizona is watching two conservative candidates vie for Flake’s Senate seat. Rep. Martha McSally is the Washington-favored candidate, while former ER doctor Kelli Ward is the darling of the hard-right corner of the party that hates McCain.
It is possible both women could wind up in the Senate if Ducey appoints the loser of the primary to fill McCain’s seat.
Some of the deeply conservative Republicans in the state — the same ones who forced the state GOP to censure McCain earlier in his career for daring to work on bipartisan immigration proposals — are reluctant to entertain suggestions that Cindy McCain take the seat.
For these hard-right voters, “McCain” is an epithet, and the Senator’s passing on Saturday changes none of that. In fact, Ward continued to hammer McCain on Saturday at campaign rallies — something that could make her appointment seem crass.
The death of Sen. John McCain on Saturday means that Arizona now has two open Senate seats.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, will appoint a temporary replacement to represent the state in the U.S. Senate until the next general election.
Ducey has said he won’t consider appointing politicians who lobbied for McCain’s seat prematurely. “To the politicians out there that have been openly lobbying for this position, they’ve basically disqualified themselves by showing their true character,” he said in a December interview with KTAR News.
When asked in that interview whether he would consider appointing himself for the seat, Ducey suggested he would rather stay in his current role. “I want to find somebody whose desire is to be in the United States Senate and can serve Arizona well. I’m going to continue to serve as governor as long as the voters will let me,” he said.
Ducey is seeking re-election but faces a challenger in the Republican primary. Ducey’s primary opponent, Ken Bennett, has tried to make the Senate appointment a reason for conservatives to balk on the governor.
Republican consultant Sean Noble says U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, former Rep. John Shadegg and former Rep. Matt Salmon are among the possible contenders for the seat. Republican strategists and donors have also discussed former Sen. Jon Kyl and McCain’s wife, Cindy, as possible successors, the Washington Post reported.
In the past, dozens of women have succeeded their deceased husbands in Congress. Some speculate that Cindy McCain could join their ranks.
How does the race for Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat impact McCain’s replacement?
Complicating the discussion about who Ducey might appoint to McCain’s seat is the primary for Flake’s seat on Tuesday.
At the moment, Arizona is watching two conservative candidates vie for Flake’s Senate seat. Rep. Martha McSally is the Washington-favored candidate, while former ER doctor Kelli Ward is the darling of the hard-right corner of the party that hates McCain.
It is possible both women could wind up in the Senate if Ducey appoints the loser of the primary to fill McCain’s seat.
Some of the deeply conservative Republicans in the state — the same ones who forced the state GOP to censure McCain earlier in his career for daring to work on bipartisan immigration proposals — are reluctant to entertain suggestions that Cindy McCain take the seat.
For these hard-right voters, “McCain” is an epithet, and the Senator’s passing on Saturday changes none of that. In fact, Ward continued to hammer McCain on Saturday at campaign rallies — something that could make her appointment seem crass.
