McCain campaigns

Confident McCain campaigns to keep his clout

The Arizona senator is crisscrossing the country to help the GOP hold the Senate — and retain his own perch overseeing the Pentagon.

By Seung Min Kim and Jeremy Herb

Sen. John McCain is hitting the road to save the Senate GOP majority — and his own job.

McCain knows that his clout in his sixth and probably final term in the Senate hinges on keeping the gavel of the powerful Armed Services Committee. So with his own reelection all but secured, the 80-year-old former presidential nominee has been barnstorming the country for other Republican candidates as the GOP looks to defy the odds on Nov. 8 and hang on to the majority.

Just last week, McCain ventured to Reno, Nevada, along with close pal Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to host a national security roundtable with GOP Senate candidate Joe Heck. Earlier this month, it was a veterans event in Indianapolis alongside Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.). And right before Congress recessed in September, McCain took a quick jaunt to Folsom, Pennsylvania, to campaign with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).

McCain's gaping lead against Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick in Arizona has allowed him to log all these frequent flier miles. McCain said in May he was bracing for "the race of my life" after Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee, but it's turned out to be less than a nail-biter.

"As you know, I'm running for reelection," McCain said while campaigning for Toomey last month. "And I'm here for Pat Toomey because I believe Pat Toomey is critical for me to do my job."

Thanks to Senate Republican Conference rules governing committees, McCain would remain the top Republican on the Armed Services Committee only if his party keeps control of the chamber next year.

If Democrats win back the majority, Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma would assume the top Republican spot on Armed Services because McCain is term-limited as ranking member after serving in that role from 2007 to 2013. A senator can serve as ranking member for only three two-year terms, and chairman for another three terms.

McCain has operated his committee with a sense of urgency since he took over in 2015, acknowledging that his tenure could be short-lived. He’s pushed a host of changes to the Pentagon’s command structure and acquisition system, including eliminating the position of a key acquisition official he’s clashed with in the past.

Looking ahead to the prospect of Republicans losing the chamber, McCain noted last year that “every pundit says it’s 50/50 right now. So 50/50 motivates me to try to get as much done in a two-year period as I possibly can.”

A campaign spokeswoman did not return a request for comment on McCain's out-of-state travels.

Though Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is making a late push in Arizona, looking to capitalize on anti-Trump sentiment among the state's sizable Latino population, McCain still looks safe. The RealClearPolitics average of recent polls has McCain — who recently disavowed Trump after refusing to for more than a year — with a comfortable 14.5-point lead over Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick’s campaign aides insist she's closing on McCain, and they're hitting the senator for what they say are fewer public appearances and less accessibility to the press. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that McCain didn't show up to a veterans event at an American Legion post that he was expected to attend.

“McCain's crass political opportunism on everything from immigration reform to his 60-plus endorsements of Donald Trump is embarrassingly transparent, and voters are fed up,” said Kirkpatrick campaign spokesman D.B. Mitchell, who accused the incumbent of "running from Arizona voters and reporters — both literally and figuratively."

But McCain seems undeterred by the pressure back home, proceeding apace with his campaign efforts for other Republicans, particularly those with a military background.

That was a key point McCain made as he stumped in Indianapolis this month for Young, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, along with retiring Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.), a fellow veteran.

“I came here because I believe that it’s Dan’s and my obligation to bring forward another generation of men and women who have served this nation and know what this nation needs to defend itself and what we need to do to care for our veterans,” McCain said at the event.

Republicans in tough races are eager for an assist from McCain, whose stature in the GOP can help draw news coverage. Toomey’s campaign called McCain a “personal hero.”

McCain’s fate is being watched closely by the defense industry, which has changed its tune this election cycle and doled out cash for McCain. He has received more than $190,000 from defense industry political action committees this cycle, according to a POLITICO review of Federal Election Commission filings.

McCain has been a double-edged sword for the defense industry as head of the military panel. The Arizona Republican is a clear booster for more defense dollars and unsuccessfully pushed the Senate to approve more funding for fighter jets, ships and helicopters earlier this year.

At the same time, he's known for going hard after programs he considers wasteful. McCain has pushed for stricter, cost-controlled contracts for weapons programs and caps on major programs like the new USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier.