The resolution knocks McCain for being critical of his party’s conservative wing. Arizona GOP reprimands McCain

The Arizona Republican Party has formally reprimanded Sen. John McCain, censuring him for a liberal voting record and working with Democrats in Washington.

The state party adopted a resolution by voice vote condemning the five-term senator for a record that is “disastrous and harmful” to the nation during a party meeting in Tempe on Saturday. The resolution knocks McCain for being critical of his party’s conservative wing while staying “eerily silent against liberals,” working closely with Democrats on immigration reform and not backing a conservative strategy to defund Obamacare, which McCain long warned would result in October’s government shutdown.


In adopting the censure, state GOP leaders affirmed that until McCain champions the party platform they will “no longer support, campaign for or endorse John McCain as our U.S. senator.” The resolution was authored by Timothy Schwartz, the chairman of the Arizona District 30 Republicans and a member of a conservative wing of Arizonans who have long been critical of McCain.

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“America’s voters believe that ‘fake-Cain’ is OK. We want the public to know Sen. McCain does not have the support of his own party,” Schwartz told KSAZ.

McCain’s office declined to comment but pointed to a spirited defense of McCain by a former colleague, the now-retired Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). In an interview with the Arizona Republic, Kyl described the resolution as “wacky” and not representative of the state’s GOP voters.

“To say that John McCain doesn’t work with Republicans, doesn’t have a conservative voting record – that’s just baloney,” said Kyl, a former Republican whip.

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Kyl’s successor, GOP Sen. Jeff Flake, also defended McCain and said “Arizona is fortunate to have the conservative leadership” of the senior GOP lawmaker.

Twenty percent of the state’s committee members from at least four counties had to sign off on the measure to bring it to the floor, according to party rules. About 700 of the state’s 1,658 committee members were present, said Arizona Republican Party spokesman Tim Sifert.

Since his unsuccessful run for president in 2008, McCain has already fended off one conservative primary challenger, former Rep. J.D. Hayworth, and was returned to office by Arizonans in 2010. He has not definitively stated whether he will run for reelection in 2016.