In perhaps his most vulnerable bid for re-election, Sen. John McCain has completely disengaged from one polarizing campaign topic — Donald Trump.
According to Politico, no matter what Trump has said about him, no matter what Trump continues to say that riles up everybody else, McCain continues to campaign on his terms — and it's driving his opponents nuts.
McCain is "pandering to the Republican electorate to try to get votes he probably would never get if he comes out and denounces Trump in the primary," Politico quoted Kelli Ward, McCain's Republican challenger, who's expected to lose handily in Tuesday's Arizona primary.
Ward actively solicited Trump supporters during her campaign, lambasting McCain for not being supportive enough of the GOP nominee.
Then there's upcoming Democratic challenger Ann Kirkpatrick, who is excoriating McCain at every turn for being too supportive of the GOP nominee.
"It's baffling to me that he continues to support Trump in spite of the horrible racist, sexist, discriminating things that Trump said," Kirkpatrick told Politico.
Whether it's actual support for Trump or just sound campaign strategy, it's working for McCain.
According to a recent poll, he owns a 13-point lead over Kirkpatrick in the general election, powered by the support of Trump voters as well as 28 percent of Hillary Clinton supporters, according to Politico.
McCain's "'no comment' speaks louder than repudiating," Margaret Leichtfuss, executive director of a nonprofit civic organization, told Politico. "People draw their own conclusions when they see this behavior."
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