The Race for the Republican Nomination for U.S. Senate in Arizona

Sierra Vista - Arizona is a cauldron of boiling political emotion, and the U.S. Senate Republican primary race has three contenders fighting tooth and nail for the all important GOP nomination. According to Arizona Department of State, the date to vote is August 24, 2010, and the voting booths will be full with people casting their ballots to see who will end up being the candidate to enter the general election race against the current Democratic front-runner Rodney Glassman of Tucson, Ariz. With recent polls from Public Policy Polling showing John McCain in the lead over JD Hayworth and leaving out the third choice Jim Deakin completely, it is important to understand who these men are, and why should we be voting or not voting for them?

John McCain the incumbent is bent on keeping his seat and position of power in the U.S. Senate his message going out on the airwaves is that he has the ability to change when necessary. Since 1986 this good old politician has campaigned and toed the line, he has built up political capital in a time when that capital may be necessary to win him another election. His recent votes have shown that he is willing to change radically to match what is needed during election year to win again. After all this is the same John McCain that supported and voted to take several hundred billion of our taxpayer dollars and give it too corporate interests, the same corporate interests that now use PACs to fund his campaign! This is the same senator that has time and again avoided the border issue by supporting the Immigration Reform Bill of 2006, which would have granted amnesty to many illegal residents currently in the United States. Now he is following the recent Arizona State legislation and is beginning to understand the political need to support real border reform. Yes, John McCain has learned to politic with the best of them, but is he really what the people of Arizona want?

We change speed a little and look at JD Hayworth, a former six-term U.S. Congressman from Arizona, he was defeated in his 2006 bid for yet another term in office after he became embroiled in scandal with Jack Abramoff and questions over payments his wife received from his PAC. Now much of this has been discounted, in addition, JD Hayworth has recently stated his desire to complete paying for the legal costs incurred as a result of the Abramoff court case. The battle between Hayworth and McCain has gone to voting records several times, and unfortunately for Hayworth his voting record while in Congress and not Senate is very similar to John McCain's. In fact in 2003 he voted for the Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - H.R. 2739. This particular bill would have allowed an unlimited number of non resident Singaporeans to enter to further trade goals, showing that while he may seem tough on immigration possibly it is just the immigrant type? While he has shown he is another great politician, but is he really the leader and representative we want in Senate or should he go back to his radio talk show? While he is an old-school politician with plenty of years of waging battle under his belt, does this give him valuable experience or more problems; it's up too you to decide.

Lastly we have Jim Deakin, someone who has not been receiving the considerable amounts of press that major media sources have lavished on the other two candidates. Jim Deakin is a businessman out of Phoenix who has been campaigning using his own funds and time, driving from town to town to meet with people and get a feeling for the residents of this great state. Instead of spending all of his time calling for massive donations or attending expensive dinners and getting corporate sponsorships Jim Deakin is reaching out to the regular citizens, the people who really run this state and who are the voters, and the real movers and shakers in this State. A statement from Jim Deakin on Jim Deakin for United States Senate, "Freedom is not dependence on the Government to provide for you. Freedom is the ability to provide for yourself and the ability to enjoy the fruits of your labor." The more you find out the less you may want to know it seems at times, however, as with everything maybe it is time to vote for the little guy? His lack of experience may be a downfall in some areas; however, his fresh approach to an age old problem may also be what the people need.

Your decision will count and when you hit the voting booths in August be prepared, know what you are doing and why, after all voting is a right that we all should be taking advantage of. So remember, register online for free today, and vote when the primaries come around. Your vote counts and will help decide Arizona and Americas future.

References:

Ken Bennett, "Arizona Department of State" Office of the Secretary of State, Arizona

Tom Jensen, "McCain less popular than Obama in Arizona" Public Policy Polling

Project Vote Smart " Immigration Reform Bill of 2006" Aristotle International Inc.

The U.S. Congress Votes Database, "Singapore Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act - H.R. 2739" The Washington Post

Jim Deakin, "Jim Deakin on Jim Deakin for United States Senate" jimdeakin.com

Online Voter Registration Arizona, " register online for free today" ServiceArizona.com