Free Republic

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator John McCain made the following statement regarding Brian A. Terry, a Border Patrol Agent who was killed in the line of duty last night in Rio Rico, Arizona: “My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and family of Agent Brian Terry after yesterday’s tragic shooting near Rio Rico, Arizona. This event is yet another reminder of the dangers the men and women of the Border Patrol face every day as they put their lives on the line to protect the American people. The increased violence in the border region demands that Congress provide the...

PHOENIX -- For the first time in state history, Arizona is holding its primary elections in August. Experts predict between 20 and 25 percent of registered voters will go to the polls before they close at 7 p.m. Tuesday. They think the heat and humidity, which have put the Valley under an extreme heat warning, will keep some people home. "That certainly is going to discourage people from going to the polls," said Maricopa County Recorder Helen Purcell. News/Radio 92.3 KTAR's Jim Cross, out and about as the polls opened at 6 a.m., found illegal immigration and SB1070, the state's...

(CNN) - At a Tea Party rally Sunday on the U.S.-Mexico border in support of tough immigration laws, Arizona Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth slammed his opponent, Arizona Sen. John McCain, and turned McCain's words back on the veteran senator. On a ranch in Hereford, Arizona, and with the border fence visible several hundred yards behind him, Hayworth also praised Arizona's new immigration law that was signed by the state's governor, who has spent the last two days campaigning with McCain. Pulling a word from a McCain letter on immigration which first surfaced in April, Hayworth said it was time to...

<p>PHOENIX (AP) - Both were once considered vulnerable but recently have found stronger footing in their Republican primary races.</p> <p>Now, Arizona Sen. John McCain and Gov. Jan Brewer will campaign together at six events in five communities on Friday and Saturday.</p>

"Tea party" groups are planning a large rally on Sunday in Arizona, near the Mexican border, to support both the state's hard-line stance on illegal immigration and the political campaign of the local talk show host who is challenging Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Candidate J.D. Hayworth, a former congressman turned conservative radio commentator, is one of dozens of scheduled speakers for the morning rally on a remote ranch about 100 miles south of Tucson. Others include Sharron Angle, the Republican challenging Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), and Sue Krentz, the wife of a rancher killed near the rally...

Timely use of campaign funds to buy advertising could be the key to overcoming incumbent John McCain's 20-point lead in the race for the Republican nomination, rival Senate candidate J.D. Hayworth said Tuesday in Ahwatukee Foothills. "Our ads are going up as his are coming down," Hayworth said following an appearance at an Ahwatukee Republican Women's club meeting at the Grace Inn, just south of Elliot Road on 51st Street. A Rasmussen Reports poll released Monday indicated McCain was leading Hayworth by a margin of 54-34. Hayworth attracted a crowd of about 80 people to the Tuesday evening event. Hayworth...

PHOENIX (AP) — Sen. John McCain's Republican primary challenger has released a new ad using McCain's own voice admitting to lying in the past. Former congressman J.D. Hayworth's campaign released the commercial Thursday. It uses McCain's voice from the recording of his 2002 book, in which McCain recalls publicly supporting South Carolina's right to fly the Confederate flag, even though he personally opposed it. McCain says on the recording: " ... it could come down to lying or losing. I chose lying." The ad suggests McCain is again lying about his record on illegal immigration.

McCain and Hayworth faced off in two debates over the weekend. On July 17, 2010 in Tucson, Arizona a debate hosted by KUAT PBS-6 was intended to be a debate on the issues facing Arizona. But at every opportunity, McCain threw out personal attacks on J.D., including calling him a "pig." This is a far different McCain than the one who debated and campaigned against Obama - and a far cry from what you would expect from a statesman. The reality is, McCain has been attacking J.D. with negative advertisements since before J.D. even entered the race. McCain has spent...

TUCSON, Ariz. – Fighting the last war is supposed to be a bad idea. For Sen. John McCain, it might end up being the path to reelection. As he faces a smashmouth Republican primary challenge in the shape of former congressman and radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth, McCain seems to be reliving his 2008 campaign experience--competing with a younger, more charismatic opponent whom he transparently does not like. He’s even still dodging criticism about an aimless and dull presidential campaign. And listening to McCain himself, it’s sometimes hard to tell that he’s not literally still running against Barack Obama.At...

Sen. John McCain will debate GOP rival J.D. Hayworth this summer, his campaign spokesman said Wednesday. Brian Rogers, McCain’s campaign communications director, said a newspaper report indicating McCain was “busy with his job as a senator” and would not debate Hayworth was “not accurate.” “What we said all along is that Sen. McCain will obviously debate — he’s always debated,” Rogers said, adding, but “he has a day job. Folks want him doing his job during the week, so he doesn’t have, unlike Congressman Hayworth, unlimited time on his hands.” Hayworth, who served 12 years in the House before he...