Sen. Jon Kyl lingered beside his white Corvette a few days before the midterm elections, as if to signal plans to make a fast get-away from Congress and return to the perks of the private sector.
The Arizona Republican, campaigning for Rep. Martha McSally — who would eventually lose a hard fought-bid for his old Senate seat — never intended to spend much time on Capitol Hill after accepting Gov. Doug Ducey’s appointment to succeed the late Sen. John McCain in early September.
Leaning against his eye-catching Corvette, decked out in red, white, and blue racing stripes, Kyl discussed his return Senate sojourn since retiring in 2013. It was clear he didn’t miss his old job and had no intention of sticking around.
“‘Enjoy’ is not the right word,” Kyl told the Washington Examiner in Phoenix, Ariz., several weeks ago. “It’s hard.”
Not much has changed in the days since, even though Kyl, a former minority whip, retired after the 2012 elections, two years before Senate Republicans won back the majority. He is widely expected to depart at the end of the 115th Congress, which would be a matter of weeks, say Republican insiders familiar with his thinking. The senator telegraphed as much this week, after returning from the Thanksgiving holiday.
Kyl said he held multiple conversations Ducey last week about his future. “He and I have had a couple of conversations and we need to have some more,” Kyl told the Washington Examiner.
[Also read: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s chief of staff resigns, sparking Senate speculation]
One Arizona-based GOP strategist described Kyl’s desire to leave the Senate as “definitive,” despite urging from many of his colleagues and Ducey to remain in the seat through late 2020. A special election will be held at that time to seat who holds the seat for the final two years of the term the late McCain won in 2016. An GOP insider in Arizona emphasized that Kyl didn’t want the job in the first place after bolting the chamber six years ago.
“He wants out. He didn’t want to do this,” this source said.
Kyl, 76, returned to the Senate to replace McCain, his longtime colleague, leaving a high-paying position in the private sector. Kyl served was elected to the Senate in 1994 after serving eight in the House. He then spent part of his nearly-six years out of office lobbying and consulting for Covington & Burling, a high-powered Washington law firm, where he represented groups such as PhRMA, Northrup Grumman, and Qualcomm.
But multiple events over the past few weeks have sent speculation into overdrive about who might replace him after his temporary appointment concludes. McSally, who just lost to Democratic Sen.-elect Kyrsten Sinema, tops the list of possible Ducey appointees, as does Kirk Adams, who resigned as the governor’s chief of staff on Monday. Adams’ move was viewed by some as a precursor to succeeding Kyl at year’s end.
Most Republicans want Ducey to pick a Republican who would stand for election in 2020, versus a caretaker like Kyl. That’s why McSally remains attractive, despite falling to Sinema, a fellow House member. She has a proven ability to run in tough races — and win some, as she did in the House. Plus, she has high name recognition.
“She’s got 100 percent name-ID. She comes in having to defend that seat next time around in really good position,” said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the incoming majority whip,. “She ran a great race out there and I’m a big fan of hers.”
But a McSally appointment wouldn’t come without risk for the GOP. To some Republicans, McSally has been tainted by her loss to Sinema and her decision to tether herself to President Trump. Additionally, they point to a deep bench of Arizona Republicans who are ready and prepared to take the seat if appointed.
“McSally tied her popularity to the president and that ended up damaging her at the end of the race because of some of Trump’s comments about the caravan and attacks in Pittsburgh and elsewhere,” said Dan Eberhart, a top GOP donor who is based in Phoenix. “There was a disconnect with where Arizona voters were and that cost McSally. Consequently, she underperformed.”
“The Republican’s bench in Arizona is much deeper than just McSally,” Eberhart added.
According to a postmortem memo, McSally’s campaign tried to explain the loss, noting that she was often behind the eight-ball due to a lengthy primary challenge and a six-week general election before early voting started.
Additionally, the retired combat pilot spent a nearly a year running for the Republican nomination for Senate in Arizona, immediately followed by a brutal general election. Ahead of her would be a 2020 primary followed by a special election. If McSally won, she would have to turn around and quickly wage a re-election battle in the regular 2022 general election. For a politician who first won a contested House seat since 2015, that is asking a lot.
“It’s just grueling,” said the Arizona-GOP strategist. “She’s going to spend the next four years, after spending the last year, just in complete campaign mode. That’s pretty tough.” This strategist added that job one for McSally would be fixing her inverted favorability rating.
McSally declined to comment for this story.
Meanwhile, Adams resigned after nearly four years as Ducey’s top deputy and has been frequently mentioned as being on the governor’s shortlist. In his resignation letter, Adams indirectly referenced the senatorial speculation, saying he has “no specific plans in place for what comes next” for him.
Also on the list of possible Republican appointees: Former Rep. Matt Salmon and state Treasurer Eileen Klein.
Until the choice is made, Kyl is focused on the lame duck session as Congress struggles to pass a government funding bill and Senate Republicans push through judicial nominees. But in the back of his mind are Arizona — and his Corvette.
“It’s probably not the best thing to be driving around,” he conceded.
