蜜柚直播 Sen. John McCain died eight days ago. In that time, he has been commemorated, venerated and explicated by people who knew him as a man, a public servant and an, at times, a cantankerous politician who didn鈥檛 mince words but could also be moved to tears.
McCain will be laid to rest at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, today, after several days of memorials in Phoenix and Washington.
The question turns to who will replace McCain as 蜜柚直播鈥檚 senator until the next general election in 2020. The person must be a Republican, and will be appointed by 蜜柚直播 Gov. Doug Ducey. The winner of the 2020 election would fill out the rest of the six-year term, which ends in January 2023.
Ducey has said he wouldn鈥檛 speak publicly about the replacement process until after McCain had been buried. Of course, there鈥檚 been speculation since the moment McCain announced he was fighting brain cancer, roughly a year ago. Ducey has said he won鈥檛 appoint himself to the seat.
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It isn鈥檛 publicly known if McCain gave a recommendation, but his former campaign manager and McCain family spokesman Rick Davis said this week that McCain 鈥渉as always been someone who鈥檚 encouraged participation in politics, especially in the Republican Party, with minorities and women.
鈥淚 think a Hispanic woman probably would鈥檝e been his pick for a successor if he would鈥檝e lived long enough,鈥 Davis said.
It is impossible, of course, to replace John McCain. He was 蜜柚直播鈥檚 senator for more than 30 years, served on powerful committees and accumulated a wealth of knowledge about foreign relations, water policy and more. That kind of institutional knowledge can鈥檛 be matched.
But, 蜜柚直播 must be represented in the Senate and, unless Ducey chooses former Sen. Jon Kyl, our state will have two new senators. Sen. Jeff Flake is retiring and will be replaced by Democrat Kyrsten Sinema or Republican Martha McSally in the November general election.
Ducey鈥檚 choice should be a person in McCain鈥檚 mold 鈥 a Republican who does not hew to the Trumpian wing of the party. McCain, whose 鈥渕averick鈥 image didn鈥檛 always match his consistently conservative voting record, defeated two far-right primary challenges: JD Hayworth in 2010 and Kelli Ward in 2016.
McCain originally endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2016, but revoked his approval after a tape recording surfaced of Trump bragging about groping women. Since then, their mutual enmity only festered.
While we talk about 鈥淢cCain鈥檚 seat鈥 in the Senate, the seat truly belongs to 蜜柚直播ns. It would dishonor McCain, and do an extreme disservice to the voters who elected him in 2016, to install a Trump supporter in McCain鈥檚 Senate seat.
