Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) has announced he will not run for Senate, despite openly discussing the possibility for weeks.
Franks had been preparing to challenge Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) in a GOP primary for the seat left open by Sen. Jon Kyl's retirement.
"After diligently and prayerfully trying to consider every aspect a potential Senate bid would entail, I have sincerely concluded that mounting a Senate bid at this time would not be what is best for my family, nor what would best allow me to serve my country at this critical time in her history," Franks said in a statement released from his Congressional office.
If this is an April Fool's "joke," I will murder someone. Dave Catanese probably wants to throttle someone, too. Anyhow, I really figured Franks would make a go of it - Jeff Flake's apostasy just presents too juicy a target for some winger not to go for it. The thing is, Franks was probably their strongest guy. The other three GOPers in AZ's House delegation are all freshmen (and include the comical Brock Landers Ben Quayle).
So who could do it? Would John Shadegg come out of retirement? J.D. Hayworth make another run? Is this the opening Joe Arpaio's been looking for? Who are your suggestions for the Great Conservative Hope to take on liberal RINO Jeff Flake?
I've followed Arizona politics since I first moved there in 1995. Though I haven't lived there full-time in almost a decade, I still read AZ political blogs (like the wonderfully-insidery Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion) regularly and try to keep up with political news there. Below, I've given a rundown of the major Arizona races and added a little analysis, as well as my predictions for November.
Since Crisitunity has covered some of the remaining competitive House primaries on the front page, I thought I'd do a diary on the Arizona primaries, which are September 2. Here are profiles of the Congressional races (I used to live in CD-01 and have continued to follow the state's politics online since I moved):
AZ-01: An open seat (indicted GOP Congressman Rick Renzi is retiring), and the most exciting primary for the Democrats. State Sen. Ann Kirkpatrick, a moderate, has the cash and the establishment support. Her expected chief rival from the left, former television news reporter Mary Kim Titla, has absolutely fizzled and can't seem to raise any money. Who is giving Kirkpatrick quite a scare is outspoken progressive Flagstaff attorney Howard Shanker. Though Shanker hasn't raised as much money as Kirkpatrick (though more than Titla), he's been endorsed by a fairly impressive list of folks: Progressive Democrats of America, CD-07 Congressman Raul Grijalva, and every single chapter council of the Navajo Nation.
You might ask why the Navajos are backing a white dude from Flagstaff over someone born on a reservation (Kirkpatrick) or an ethnic Native American (Titla). It's because Shanker was the attorney who defeated a proposal for snowmaking with reclaimed water on one of the Navajo's sacred mountains, arguing before the Supreme Court that to do so would violate their tribal sovereignty.
