WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Martha McSally was talking about the financial impact some families face as they try to juggle work to care for sick and elderly parents.

During the Arizona Republican's round of questions before the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., entered the chamber, drawing eyes to her and, at least for a moment, shifting the attention of some in the room.

As McSally continued her questions, Sinema took her seat and read from her phone on the other end of the dais.

She whispered something to Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who laughed. Throughout the remainder of their time together during their brief appearances at the hearing, Sinema seemed to not acknowledge her seatmate.

By contrast, McSally watched Sinema intently as Sinema spoke of the lost wages and retirement benefits that caregivers can lose to care for family.

The interpersonal distance between Sinema and McSally could be easy to miss for those who weren't privy to their bitter 2018 Senate battle.

But the unmistakable body language in this hearing and, separately, in questions about their relationship last week suggest the raw emotions from that hard-fought campaign still smolder.

As that race barreled toward its final, unpredictable days, McSally accused Sinema in a televised debate of abetting "treason" in a 2003 interview in which she sounded indifferent to an American joining the Taliban.

Sinema said she was trying to move the interview to another subject and the comment was grossly distorted by her foes on the right.

Sinema won the election, but McSally was appointed to serve in the seat once held by the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, making the former combatants Senate seatmates. They both took office on the same day, Jan. 3.

McSally, Sinema respectful but distant

They are respectful and discreet when speaking of each other.

McSally pointedly notes Sinema's seniority in the state's history books when speaking publicly about her colleague.

Sinema likewise speaks politely about McSally and repeats her often-repeated campaign pledge that she will work with "literally anyone," including "Martha."

Both senators say their staffs are working together to find common ground to advance the interests of Arizona, particularly on significant issues such as protecting Arizona’s water supply, land exchanges and specific pieces of health-care policy, including veterans health care and prescription-drug pricing.

But asked whether Arizona's two new senators have had a meaningful conversation since their swearing in last month, Sinema said, "I'm sure that day will come."

McSally described the dynamics of their relationship: "We have not had, like, a scheduled meeting. Our staffs are working together. We connect from time to time, kind of spontaneously. But we’ve not like sat down for, like, a long meeting with both of us involved."

Will time heal wounds of Senate fight?

If given time for the wounds of the campaign to heal, the two senators may be able to forge a productive relationship, said Larry Sabato, the political scientist who directs the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

"But I don’t know if Martha McSally will have time," he said, referring to her 2020 re-election bid.

Sabato noted that much of the Senate work is done at the staff level by those who have known and worked together over the years and may not share the same animosities as the candidates.

"And let’s be honest: There are not that many bipartisan efforts anymore," he said. "You’ve got one Republican and one Democrat. And that means that on the vast majority of antagonistic subjects, they’re going to be on the opposite sides, anyways."

Sinema, who cultivates a reputation as someone not beholden to party orthodoxy, has not met privately with McSally. But she is working on getting to know every other senator.

And Sinema recently made time to meet with Mark Kelly, the Arizona Democrat who just launched his 2020 campaign with the hopes of unseating McSally.

Sinema, McSally bring different experience, views to the Senate

The freshman senators bring vastly different life experiences and governing views to the Senate.

Sinema, a former social worker, is a one-time progressive Democratic activist who has evolved into a moderate Democrat. She rose from being an Arizona legislator to the U.S. House of Representatives, where she served three terms and earned a reputation for working across party lines.

She is the Senate's first openly bisexual member.

Sinema cast herself in the 2018 campaign as an independent who would focus on the issues Arizonans cared most about, such as health care, affordable prescription drugs and military funding.

McSally is a retired U.S. Air Force combat pilot who served two terms in the House representing a Tucson-area congressional district.

She did not endorse Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential run, but she presented herself to voters in 2018 as a reliable Trump ally, especially when it came to border security, judicial nominees and championing veterans issues. That strategy alienated moderate Republicans and independent voters who crossed party lines to vote for Sinema.

Former senator: Working together could benefit Arizona

They temporarily work in separate buildings on Capitol Hill as they wait for permanent offices. Each apologized for their diminutive quarters.

Sinema has a tiny suite in the Hart Senate Office Building. McSally occupies a cramped office in the windowless basement of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Both women seem to enjoy their new positions, but they haven't traded notes on the change from the House.

Relationships are especially important in the 100-member Senate, where each state has equal representation and fewer people are making the decisions.

Two senators from the same state who are at odds with each other may not be as effective as those who forge close relationships and may find greater success in advocating on behalf of their states.

"They don't have to be close, but it's immensely helpful," said former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini, a Democrat who served from 1977 to 1995 alongside two Arizona Republicans, U.S. Sens. Barry Goldwater and John McCain. "When you've gone through a brutal campaign like they did, a little bit of that is human nature. But if you're a senator and you want to put your state first, then, you know, you work together."

DeConcini and McCain were not close, although DeConcini said he has great respect for his service both in the military and the House and Senate.

"When McCain was in the House, my wife and I had the whole delegation over for dinner a couple of times," DeConcini recalled. "After he moved over to the Senate, we never went out for dinner."

'Keating Five' scandal caused a rift between DeConcini, McCain

But the DeConcini-McCain relationship turned icy after the two found themselves at the heart of a major national savings-and-loan scandal that resulted in 23 days of Senate ethics hearings.

The scandal became known as "the Keating Five," after five senators, including DeConcini and McCain, who were accused of putting improper pressure on federal thrift regulators on behalf of a political benefactor.

The Senate Ethics Committee in February 1991 said McCain had shown "poor judgment" for intervening on behalf of disgraced financier Charles H Keating Jr. DeConcini's "aggressive conduct" in the episode was called "inappropriate" by the committee.

McCain and DeConcini also differed when it came to securing earmarks to fund local projects and priorities. DeConcini sat on the Senate Appropriations Committee; McCain crusaded against pork-barreling for years, even making it part of his 2008 presidential campaign.

But when it mattered for Arizona, DeConcini said, McCain did not stand up to speak against the earmarks that DeConcini sought for the state.

"McCain to his credit would not come out on the floor and oppose additional money that I would put in for the Central Arizona Project, and almost every year I added $5, $10, $15 million to get it moving faster," DeConcini said. "I don't know what was in his mind, but he didn't do it."

Sinema and McSally differ on policy and in their approach to the Senate

Besides their policy differences, Sinema and McSally have different styles in the ways they are working to make friends and advance their prioritiesin the Senate.

Sinema, who has six years to settle in before she faces re-election,is trying to get to know possible Senate allies, particularly those on the other side of the aisle.

During one floor session last week, she breezed onto the Senate floor and chatted with Democratic friends. She moved toward the front of the chamber and had two Republican colleagues, Marco Rubio of Florida and Mitt Romney of Utah, laughing at length.

McSally’s political future is more tenuous. She must defend her seat in 2020, and if she wins, she would have to run again in 2022 to serve a full, six-year term.

She arrived in the Senate through an unlikely path and hopes to maximize the power of incumbency to win favor with voters.

McSally exudes joy and greets colleagues of both parties as she zips through the Senate halls, under its tunnels, and up its elevators.

She still wakes up before dawn to exercise with Democratic and Republican lawmakers from the House of Representatives, where she served two terms.

"We've built friendships," McSally said, shortly before an intense workout alongside U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy,D-Mass., and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii.

"You sweat together. You can laugh together," McSally said. "We don't get into political discussions."

Grijalva: Let Sinema, McSally work it out themselves

Arizona's House delegation knows the state's senators aren't close. But it's a situation they expect will improve as time and legislative demands require.

U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., is the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.

Grijalva said he expects Sinema and McSally will "get together" when the state needs something.

When asked if he had a role to play in brokering a breakthrough, he cited family experience as a reason to stand back.

"I’m not being facetious. When it comes to that discussion, sometimes it’s best to stay out of it," he said, laughing. "Let it work itself out. ... There’s going to be a kumbaya moment for both senators."

U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., a freshman, said "politics is not personal" and emphasized the need for productive relationships.

"I expect, as all Arizonans expect, that our leaders, whether they be members of Congress or the U.S. Senate, put aside whatever differences and work for the betterment of the state of Arizona," Stanton said. "You’ve got to do that."

Stanton said that on the issues that matter, such as the state’s pending drought-contingency plan, "You’re going to see a united front on the congressional side."

Is the Gosar-Kirkpatrick relationship a model for McSally and Sinema?

Such statementsare easier made by House members who haven't run against each other. But even the two who did have found common ground.

U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., lost to U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2010, but returned to Capitol Hill two years later when they ran in different congressional districts.

The two subsequently worked together on legislation related to North America's largest copper mine, near Superior, and other issues, such as deforestation, building Interstate 11 between southern Arizona and Las Vegas and even some tax issues.

These days, U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., is trying to encourage the entire Arizona delegation to work cooperatively in areas where they can. To help make that happen, she has arranged a pair of delegation breakfasts. She hopes the state’s senators will join her in future gatherings.

"I think it helps us just to get to know each other better," Lesko said. "You have to build relationships to get things done."

Last year as a freshman, Lesko succeeded in getting a bill signed into law that requires threat assessments across the nation’s ports of entry. It builds on her reputation at the state Legislature for seeking consensus on issues.

"I’m hoping people in Arizona will see really we’re trying to work in a bipartisan fashion on issues we can agree on," she said.

Follow Wingett Sanchez on Twitter and Facebook. Reach her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com. Follow Hansen on Twitter. Reach him at ronald.hansen@arizonarepublic.com.