Marco Rubio, John McCain win Florida, Arizona Senate primaries
Trump's name loomed large over ballots in both states
Republicans U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Sen. John McCain both won their primary challenges in their states of Florida and Arizona Tuesday night.
McCain beat back a primary challenge Tuesday from a Republican tea party activist to win the right to seek a sixth Senate term in November, clearing an important hurdle in a race that was inundated with questions about GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump.
- Donald Trump calls John McCain 'not a war hero'
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The 2008 GOP presidential nominee easily defeated former state Sen. Kelli Ward and two other Republicans on the ballot.
He faces a tough Democratic challenge in the November general election from U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick. She advanced Tuesday after facing only a write-in opponent in the primary.
McCain, who turned 80 on Monday, had been campaigning hard, rallying campaign workers and making get-out-the-vote stops in keeping his vow not to take the primary for granted.
"I'm humbled by and grateful for our success tonight and for the honor to be the Arizona Republican Party's nominee for election to the United States Senate," McCain said in prepared remarks.
Rubio, who decided at the last second to seek a second term, easily fended off millionaire homebuilder Carlos Beruff and Murphy used the backing of President Barack Obama and other Democratic leaders to defeat U.S. Rep Alan Grayson, who was counting on his party's most faithful liberal voters to overcome Murphy's money and establishment support.
And the sheriff for metropolitan Phoenix trounced three rivals Tuesday to win his Republican primary in what could be the toughest campaign in his 24 years in office as he faces a storm of legal troubles stemming from his immigration patrols.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio easily beat former Buckeye Police Chief Dan Saban and two lesser-known Republicans. Arpaio has raised a staggering amount of money for a local sheriff's race — $11.3 million US and counting, most from people living in other states.
The 84-year-old lawman moves on to face the race's sole Democrat, retired Phoenix police Officer Paul Penzone, in the Nov. 8 general election. Penzone lost the 2012 sheriff's race by six percentage points, marking his second closest election in Arpaio's political career.
Rubio, Murphy speeches set the tone
The victory speeches by Rubio and Democratic U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, who also won in Florida, set the tone for the upcoming Senate race.
"Marco Rubio is the worst of Washington because he puts himself first every time. He gave up on his job. He gave up on Florida. He earned the worst voting record for any Florida senator in 50 years," Murphy said shortly after polls closed.
Rubio spoke about an hour later and said Murphy has lied about his education and his career and is only successful because of his wealthy father.
"How can someone with that kind of record think he can be elected to the U.S. Senate? The answer is he has a sense of entitlement, because when everything you've ever had in your life is given to you, you think you deserve it all," Rubio said.
Rubio had declared during his failed presidential campaign that he would not run again for Senate. But he nearly cleared what had been a crowded Republican field with his last-minute turnabout.
In other races, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown lost a primary as she faces felony fraud charges. She was one of the first African-Americans elected to Congress from Florida since Reconstruction. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who recently resigned as Democratic National Committee chair, won her primary — the first tough race since being elected to Congress in 2004.
Trump name looms large
One name not on the ballot in Florida or Arizona looms large — Donald Trump.
The Republican presidential nominee endorsed both John McCain, who is running in Arizona, and Rubio in their re-election bids even though he has rocky relations with both senators.
Trump offended McCain and many other Republicans last year by suggesting that the maverick senator and party's 2008 presidential nominee was anything but a war hero because he was captured during the Vietnam War after his airplane was shot down during a bombing mission.
In March, Trump ended Rubio's presidential bid by trouncing him in the Florida primary to cap a race in which the New York businessman taunted the first-term senator as "little Marco," and Rubio insulted Trump on everything from his hair colour and the size of his hands to misspelled words in tweets.
During their re-election efforts, both McCain and Rubio offered support for Trump as the party's White House nominee. But they have tiptoed around him, mainly out of concern that his provocative comments on illegal immigration, Muslims and U.S. support for NATO could alienate moderate and independent voters in their states.
At the same time, they have steered clear of attacks on Trump that might antagonize his core supporters.
Rubio accused of 'tap dancing' around Trump
Rubio's late decision to seek a second Senate term came at the urging of Republican Party leaders, who viewed him as their best hope for preventing Democrats from taking the seat.
That prompted the major Republican Senate candidates to quit, leaving Beruff, a newcomer to politics, as Rubio's main primary challenger. Like Ward, Beruff has embraced Trump and has accused Rubio of "tap dancing" around the presidential nominee and only offering him lukewarm support.
with files from the Associated Press