Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., on Tuesday announced that she would challenge Sen. John McCain in 2016, offering the Republican a competitive challenge as long as he wins re-nomination.
The Democrat survived a Republican wave last November to win re-election in Arizona’s competitive 1st district, which encompasses most of the state outside of Phoenix and Tucson. Kirkpatrick, 65, first won election to Congress in 2008, but lost in the GOP wave of 2010. She won election to the new 1st district in 2012.
“In Arizona we tell it straight, so let’s get right to it: I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Kirkpatrick said in a slickly crafted campaign video.
“Sen. McCain welcomes Congresswoman Kirkpatrick to the race, and looks forward to running a vigorous campaign no matter who the Democratic nominee is,” McCain spokesman Brian Rogers told the Washington Examiner in an email.
Kirkpatrick’s decision is a potential boon for Senate Democrats. The congresswoman gives them a credible, top-tier candidate to throw against McCain, 78, possibly forcing Republicans to invest resources that they would rather spend on Democratic leaning states like Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, where they have incumbents running for re-election, not to mention Florida, where the GOP is defending an open seat.
Additionally, should McCain lose his primary to a GOP challenger defined as more conservative, the race could immediately be classified as a toss-up. In 2010, McCain faced a concerted challenge in the Republican primary, with former Rep. J.D. Hayworth running against him from the right. McCain ended up crushing him and cruised to a fifth term in the general election.
One side benefit to the GOP is that Kirkpatrick’s move offers House Republicans a rare opportunity to go on offense in 2016. The party won several competitive House districts in the 2014 wave, likely putting it in a defensive crouch in the next election.
