Senator John McCain could have trouble ahead in his 2010 reelection campaign. A Rasmussen
poll
matching up McCain to possible GOP primary challenger J.D. Hayworth has
McCain with only 45% and Hayworth 43%. That's not much of a lead for a
man with over 20 years in the Senate and the winner of his party's last
presidential nomination. It's still early, but how seriously should
McCain be taking the possibility of defeat in 2010?
- Palin Will Save McCain The Weekly Standard's William Kristol predicts. "I predict that Palin will come to Arizona next summer to campaign for
McCain, will make an impassioned case for him, and will help him win.
She will thereby repay McCain for his confidence in picking her last
year, help keep McCain as a crucial voice in the Senate for a strong
foreign policy, and get credit for being a different kind of populist
conservative"
- McCain Will Drive Right Matthew Yglesias shakes his head.
"This seems like pretty much terrible news for the world. The most
likely path between Point A and Senate passage of a reasonable climate
bill is for McCain to rediscover his interest in the issue. But that’s
not the sort of thing a Senator worried about a right-wing primary
challenge is likely to do." He quotes a Politico story that McCain may
drop his support for climate legislationg. "The article says that
'[f]ormer aides are mystified by what they see as
a retreat on the issue, given McCain’s long history of leadership on
climate legislation' but I don't find it surprising at all."
- Immigration Could End McCain The Washington Independent's David Weigel thinks McCain should worry. "It’s a surprising poll because only 24 percent
of state Republicans have a negative view of McCain. He’s suffering
from a backlash against everyone currently in Washington. And it’s been
two years since McCain broke with the GOP base and backed comprehensive
immigration reform. If that comes up again in 2010, as many expect it
to, McCain could face real problems with Arizona voters."
- Good Riddance The American Conservative's Daniel Larison can't bring himself to care and him or Sarah Palin. "If [Palin] is supposed to represent some great right-populist hope, [McCain] is
the deal-brokering, bipartisan “moderate” Beltway denizen who
assiduously cultivates the media, but the reality is that he chose her
partly because she reminded him of his own combative, arrogant,
egocentric style and his habit of breaking party ranks to aggrandize
himself.
