Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ)
Arizona voters told unelected Senator Martha McSally no already once last year.
McSally lost decisively to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema in November after a failed campaign that earned her the mantle of “flip-flopper.” She spent a grueling primary trying to match her far-right opponents’ rhetoric, then turned around and attempted to moderate as soon as she won.
McSally is sticking by her losing flip-flop strategy.
McSally’s brief record in the Senate hasn’t done much to dispel her flip-flopping reputation: she was a hardliner throughout President Trump’s pointless government shutdown; immediately after he announced his capitulation, she parroted his stance.
McSally’s own campaign identified crucial shortfalls in Arizona’s electorate that led to her loss. In a memo released after Election Day, McSally’s campaign consultants blamed her loss in part on an electorate that disliked President Trump and wasn’t attracted to a candidate like McSally who bearhugged him whenever possible. In their own words, a “segment of moderate Republicans, especially woman [sic], proved very difficult to bring home to a Republican candidate that supported President Trump and the confirmation of Justice Kavanaugh.” It’s hard to imagine the electoral environment changing in her favor between now and Election Day 2020.
McSally has two years to convince Arizonans she’s worthy of election.
American Bridge is ready to pick up where we left off after her first Senate loss.