Donald Trump might have the race for the Republican nomination locked up, but election fights are only gearing up downticket. Sen. John McCain of Arizona told donors last month that Trump’s nomination might lose him his Senate seat, POLITICO reported Thursday morning.
“If Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, here in Arizona, with over 30 percent of the vote being the Hispanic vote, no doubt that this may be the race of my life,” the 2008 Republican presidential nominee said at a private fundraiser, according to a recording POLITICO obtained.
“If you listen or watch Hispanic media in the state and in the country, you will see that it is all anti-Trump. The Hispanic community is roused and angry in a way that I've never seen in 30 years,” he added.
McCain, the senior senator from Arizona, said last year he would support whoever becomes the Republican nominee. But some Republicans, including McCain’s own former aide Mark Salter, announced they would rather back Hillary Clinton than fall in line behind the real estate businessman.
the GOP is going to nominate for President a guy who reads the National Enquirer and thinks it's on the level. I'm with her.
— Mark Salter (@MarkSalter55) May 3, 2016
Last year, Trump suggested McCain, a Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, was “not a war hero” for being captured and tortured by the North Vietnamese. Though his comments were widely denounced, Trump won 26 states in the 38 contests held so far and became the de facto nominee after rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich dropped out this week.
McCain, 79, is running for his sixth term in the Senate.
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