WASHINGTON _ Rep. Martha McSally told her fellow Arizona GOP House colleagues Monday that she plans to run for Senate in the newly open seat race.
The Arizona political outlet Yellow Sheet Report first reported the news Monday night. The Arizona Republic also reported the news Tuesday. Two sources with knowledge of the discussion confirmed the reports.
McSally was one of the top names that emerged after GOP Sen. Jeff Flake announced last month he would not run for re-election in 2018. It is not clear when she will officially announce her Senate campaign. But McSally is already facing criticism from some outside conservative groups for her immigration stances.
The pro-Trump group Great America Alliance launched a website and a digital ad Friday accusing McSally of "supporting amnesty for illegals." The group's chairman, Eric Beach, is also a strategist for Republican state Sen. Kelli Ward, who is also running for Senate and had launched a primary challenge against Flake.
McSally campaign manager Anthony Barry countered the group's ad. He told USA Today that McSally's voting record aligns with Trump, and she voted to strip funds for so-called sanctuary cities, which do not honor federal immigration laws. McSally also chairs the Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee on the Homeland Security Committee.
A coalition of conservative groups including the Club for Growth PAC and FreedomWorks announced last month that they would oppose McSally's candidacy if she ran. They accused her of being too liberal.
McSally could face a crowded Republican primary field that already includes Ward, who Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., endorsed last week. Arizona Board of Regents member Jay Heiler has formed an exploratory committee. Other potential contenders include former GOP Rep. Matt Salmon and state Treasurer Jeff DeWit. The candidates have until May 30 to file for the race and will face off in an Aug. 28 primary.
McSally was first elected to the House in 2014 in a swing district that includes Tucson and stretches along the southern border with Mexico. She is a former Air Force pilot and the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat.
McSally has proven to be a prolific fundraiser. She would enter the race with $1.4 million in the bank. But that still pales compared to the likely Democratic candidate for Senate, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema. She had $4 million in cash on hand at the end of the most recent fundraising quarter, according to Federal Election Commission documents.
Democrats began Tuesday tying McSally to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., even before she officially entered the race.
"Mitch McConnell's Martha McSally _ who has already earned the ire of conservatives _ will take up the same establishment campaign that forced Senator Jeff Flake to sprint out the door, and this attempted coronation will only continue the GOP civil war in Arizona," said Herschel Fink, the executive director of the Arizona Democratic Party.
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates the Senate race a Tossup.
McSally's impending Senate run also opens up a competitive race for her House seat. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won the district by 5 points in 2016. But voters narrowly supported Republican presidential candidates in 2008 and 2012.
McSally defeated Democratic Rep. Ron Barber by just 167 votes in 2014 and won re-election in 2016 by nearly 41,000 votes in 2016. Barber had succeeded his former boss, Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in 2011 at a constituent event.
One GOP source said potential contenders for McSally's House seat include Lea Marquez-Peterson, president & CEO of the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Juan Ciscomani, a senior adviser for regional and international affairs for Gov. Doug Ducey; and Douglas City Councilman Danny "DJ" Morales.
Democrats are hopeful that McSally exiting the House race will help them win the district next year. Former Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, who ran unsuccessfully for Senate last year, moved into the district to challenge McSally. Matt Heinz, who lost to McSally in 2016, is also in the race, along with a handful of other Democrats.
