McSally pulls ahead in Arizona by nationalizing the Senate race

Roll Call:

Rep. Martha McSally of Arizona sees her race for the Senate as a make-or-break one for Republicans.

“They know if there’s any chance to flip the majority, it goes through Arizona,” the two-term congresswoman said of the Democrats while addressing a friendly audience here at a synagogue Wednesday night. “I’m literally a firewall to make sure that Chuck Schumer and his allies are not in charge.”

Other Republicans in red states that President Donald Trump won handily two years ago are nationalizing their races, arguing that GOP control is necessary to maintain a strong economy and support the president’s agenda.

McSally is testing whether or not the same strategy will work in her race against Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema in a state that could be trending purple — Trump carried Arizona by just 4 points. Republicans are confident it will.

“It’s Martha’s [race] to lose right now,” said Robert Graham, the former Arizona GOP chairman.
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McSally has since embraced the president and emerged victorious from the late-August primary with 53 percent of the vote. Trump’s recent visit to the state likely helped in her efforts to unite the party around her candidacy, said Chuck Coughlin, an Arizona GOP consultant.

Her focus on the election’s partisan stakes is resonating with some Republicans, like Jim Bloch, a 73-year-old Scottsdale resident who attended Wednesday’s event at Congregation Beth Tefillah.

“I wouldn’t vote for a Democrat if my life depended on it,” said Bloch, a self-described conservative, not registered with any party. He attributed his stance largely to the intense confirmation fight over new Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who faced allegations of sexual assault, which he strongly denied.

Republicans have been hopeful that the court battle could boost energy among GOP voters in a race that Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales rates a Toss-up. Recent polls are already pointing to the race trending in McSally’s favor, which some credit to GOP voters waking up.

“This could be a ‘Put your jerseys on’-type moment,” one Republican strategist involved in Senate races said.
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Early voting in Arizona is trending toward Republicans in this election.  I see a similar trend in Texas.  I think the mistreatment of Kavanaugh is behind this trend.  Democrats started the campaign angry and they have now angered Republicans into action.