J.D. Hayworth still hasn’t called Sen. John McCain to congratulate him on his Arizona GOP primary win. McCain still waiting on Hayworth call

Two days after being trounced in the Arizona GOP Senate primary, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth still hasn’t called Sen. John McCain to congratulate him.

And it’s not as if Tuesday night’s outcome was in doubt for very long.


McCain eviscerated Hayworth by 24 percentage points and The Associated Press called the race not even a full two hours after the polls closed.

The four-term senator quickly took the stage at the downtown Phoenix Convention Center to declare victory and make it an early night. But the McCain campaign is still a bit surprised it never heard from Hayworth, a former six-term congressman who lost his Scottsdale congressional seat in 2006.

“The Hayworth campaign actually had reached out to us this past weekend to get the appropriate number for him to call for concession,” one McCain aide told POLITICO.

The aide said Hayworth’s spokesman Mark Sanders even tested it on Monday morning to make sure the traditional post-election ritual went smoothly. But the call never came.

Sanders told POLITICO Hayworth had no plans of calling McCain. A message seeking an explanation on why was not immediately returned.

But it’s reasonable to believe the wounds left on both sides from the acrimonious fight will take some time to heal.

After all, this was a bitter — often personal — contest where Hayworth called McCain a liar and “shape-shifter,” and McCain dubbed the former radio talk show host “a huckster” and “a pig.”

There’s a similar situation in Florida, where health care executive Rick Scott has yet to receive a call from Attorney General Bill McCollum, who lost a bitterly fought Republican gubernatorial primary to the self-funding multimillionaire by 3 percent.

But in that race, party unity is more critical because polls show a competitive general election between Scott and Democratic nominee Alex Sink.

McCain, on the other hand, is a heavy favorite to capture a fifth term and most likely doesn’t feel the need to extend an olive branch to an opponent he openly showed disdain for throughout the campaign.

“Note Hayworth basically did the same thing when Harry Mitchell beat him in 2006,” said the McCain aide. “J.D. has less class than the Salahis.”