Ducey noted that McSally was supported by more than 1 million voters in November’s election – a fact also highlighted by the Arizona Democratic Party, which charged that “Washington, D.C., insiders hand-picked” McSally after Arizona voters rejected her. McSally finished with 1,135,200 votes to Sinema’s 1,191,100.
“After running a divisive, dishonest campaign for over a year, Arizona voters rejected McSally because they don’t trust her to fight for them when it matters most,” said Democratic Party Chair Felecia Rotellini in a prepared statement Tuesday.
“(Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell and Martha McSally are ignoring the will of Arizona voters to advance their agenda of putting their wealthiest donors ahead of Arizonans’ access to health care,” her statement said.
Despite running a largely negative campaign against Sinema, McSally said Tuesday that she looked forward to “working with Kyrsten Sinema in the Senate, just like we did in the House.”
“There’s a lot of common ground between us, and I’m ready to hit it running,” McSally said. “Arizona’s two senators have always worked together, for decades. That’s our tradition and how we’re most effective, and that’s how I plan to serve.”
She went on to say that she had “done a lot of listening and … learned a lot” while crossing the state in her Senate campaign, about the issues Arizonans care about – but did not touch on any specific issues Tuesday.
While some Republicans had reportedly soured on McSally after her loss in November, Kyl on Tuesday called her “an excellent choice” and McCain’s widow, Cindy, said in a tweet that she respected Ducey’s choice of McSally to fill out her husband’s term.
“My husband’s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ and USA ahead of his own self-interest,” McCain wrote. “Arizonans will be pulling for her (McSally), hoping she will follow his example of selfless leadership.”