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U.S. NEWS Wednesday 19 december 2018
McSally lost Senate race but will

fill McCain's Arizona seat

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI
and TERRY TANG
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's
governor on Tuesday ap-
pointed U.S. Rep. Martha
McSally to replace Sen.
Jon Kyl in the seat that be-
longed to the late John
McCain, sending the GOP
congresswoman back to
Washington just a month
after she lost a tight race
for the state's other spot in
the Senate.
McSally, a former air force
colonel, lost to Democrat-
ic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in
November after a bruising
contest in which she con-
tended Sinema committed
"treason" by making anti- U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., waits to speak during a news conference Tuesday, Dec. 18,
2018, at the Capitol in Phoenix, where Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, rear, announced his decision to
war remarks in 2003. Now, replace U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz. with McSally in the U.S. Senate seat that belonged to Sen. John
McSally will join the Senate McCain.
the same day that Sinema Associated Press
is sworn in.
"Arizona needs someone with McCain's wife, Cindy, Mark Kelly and former Arizo- That ended during this
who understands the criti- on Friday. na Attorney General Grant year's Senate campaign.
cal issues, can get to work "My husband's greatest leg- Woods, who left the GOP She had been critical of
on day one, and who em- acy was placing service to this year, have all consid- Trump in 2016 but praised
bodies the spirit of service," AZ & USA ahead of his own ered running as Democrats him during the midterm
Gov. Doug Ducey said at a self-interest," Cindy McCain for the post. That they are election and embraced a
press conference. tweeted Tuesday. "I respect all men may have made tougher stance on immi-
The governor said Sinema @dougducey's decision to appointing a woman that gration. But McSally wasn't
will be sworn in first on Jan. appoint @RepMcSally to fill much more desirable to able to defeat Sinema,
3 when the Senate recon- the remainder of his term. the GOP. who ran as a centrist and
venes after the holidays, Arizonans will be pulling for The intense interest in the peeled away enough
making her Arizona's senior her, hoping that she will fol- seat was a factor in Du- moderate Republicans
senator and its first woman low his example of selfless cey's convoluted decisions. to win by 2 percentage
in the chamber. leadership." He initially appointed Kyl points.
"I'm going to respect the will McSally said she would, while the governor him- In a postelection memo,
of the voters," Ducey said. calling the late senator an self was campaigning for McSally strategists argued
McSally will serve until icon and hero and promis- re-election. By picking Kyl, that she did well in a strong
2020, when voters will elect ing to commit "to the stan- Ducey dodged tough po- Democratic year. Senate
someone to serve the final dard of service that Sena- litical decisions that could Majority Leader Mitch Mc-
two years of McCain's term. tor McCain held, putting have complicated his own Connell lobbied for Ducey
She tried to put the heated country before self." re-election bid. to select her.
campaign behind her. McCain died of brain can- McSally is a two-term con- Still, many Arizona Repub-
"I look forward to working cer in August, and his re- gresswoman long consid- licans were disappointed
closely with Kyrsten Sinema tired longtime colleague, ered for the Senate by the by McSally's campaign
in the Senate, as we did Kyl, was appointed to his state's GOP establishment. and questioned whether
in the House," McSally told seat. Kyl said he would only The first female combat pi- she would be the strongest
reporters. "There's a lot of commit to serving until the lot, McSally once sued the choice for McCain's seat.
common ground between end of 2018 and has re- U.S. military so she would Ducey had limited choices
us, and I'm ready to hit it signed effective Dec. 31. not be required to wear a — the GOP's bench is thin
running." McSally's appointment puts head covering while sta- in Arizona and McSally was
Sinema's spokesman didn't Arizona back in the politi- tioned in the Middle East. the only woman with fed-
respond to a request for cal spotlight a month after She rose to the rank of col- eral experience who had
comment Tuesday. Democrats won their first onel in the Air Force before campaigned statewide re-
McSally also has tried to statewide race in a de- entering politics. She got a cently.
patch up frayed relations cade. Democrats hope taste for it working for Kyl's Democrats attacked the
with the McCain family, that the state swings again office as a national security appointment following Mc-
whom she infuriated by fol- in 2020 and are expected aide. Sally's Senate defeat.
lowing President Donald to target it both in the presi- McSally represented a "Why appoint a loser when
Trump's lead and not men- dential race and the con- swing district in Tucson that you could find a fresh face
tioning the dying senator test for McCain's seat. voted for Hillary Clinton in with a better shot in 2020?"
during a signing ceremony U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, 2016. She carved out a rep- the Democratic Senate
for a defense bill named former astronaut and cur- utation as a moderate who Campaign Committee said
after McCain. McSally met rent gun control advocate could win tough elections. in a statement.q