United States Senate election in Arizona of 2010 (SIADD)

The 2010 United States Senate election in Arizona will take place on November 2, 2010 along with other elections to the United States Senate in other states as well as elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Incumbent Democrat Ed Pastor is running for his first elected term in the Senate, having replaced long-time Senator John McCain upon his election to the presidency in the presidential election of 2008. The Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held on August 24, 2010.

Background
Many considered popular Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano a possible Democratic challenger to McCain, and some very early polling showed her ahead or competitive with him in a prospective 2010 matchup. Napolitano was term-limited as governor in 2010, and had openly discussed the possibility of a senate race. However, with McCain's victory in the presidential election on November 4, 2008, the situation changed.

On November 11, 2008, Napolitano nominated Ed Pastor, who had been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2008, representing Arizona's 4th congressional district, to fill out McCain's vacancy in the Senate. On November 19, 2008, Pastor was seated by Congress.

In February 2009, Arizona Senate minority leader Jorge Luis Garcia was saying: "There hasn't been any discussion about any [candidates]. The Democratic Party would be willing to support Pastor against any potential Republican candidate.

Announced

 * Ed Pastor, incumbent U.S. Senator
 * Rodney Glassman, Vice-Mayor of Tucson

Republican primary
Incumbent Republican senator John McCain won his bid for President of the United States in the 2008 election on November 4, 2008. As a result, he resigned from the U.S. Senate on November 19, 2008, and was replaced by Democrat Ed Pastor.

With the Senate seat open for election in 2010, and with long-time incumbent McCain in the office of President of the United States, the election was open for several Republican candidates.

The person most mentioned as a possible primary contender was radio talk show host and former U.S. Congressman J. D. Hayworth, who was being urged to run by his listeners. With the increasingly hostile political environment in Congress, and the moderate members being threatened by Liberal Democrats on the left and by Conservative Republicans supported by the Tea Party movement on the right, Hayworth seemed to the best candidate to beat Pastor in the Senate election on November 2, 2010.

On July 23, Hayworth announced at a meeting of the Arizona Republican Party State Committee that he did intend to run, and that a formal announcement would be forthcoming soon.

Hayworth officially launched his bid on August 6, 2009, in Phoenix. His announcement led Simcox to drop his campaign and endorse Hayworth, saying that he wanted to present a united conservative front. Hayworth attracted the support of a good number of the top-rated of his fellow radio talk show hosts, including Glenn Beck and Michael Savage, as well as by Chris Simcox, the co-founder of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps.

As 2009 progressed, Hayworth got one announced primary challenger, U.S. Navy veteran and businessman Jim Deakin. However, on February 10, 2010, Deakin announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsed Hayworth. As 2010 progressed, Haysworth would attracted the support of several conservatives, including fellow radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, former Vice President Sarah Palin, sheriff of Maricopa County Joe Arpaio, Gun Owners of America and the Tea Party movement.

There were some speculation whether U.S. President John McCain would endorse Haysworth. During Mr. McCain’s presidential run in 2000, Hayworth had campaigned for him aggressively. However, the two parted ideological ways shortly after that election, and Hayworth has been dinging him ever since, criticizing him for being a centrist and not a true Conservative. While Haysworth now was expecting the President's endorsement, McCain had on the other hand privately criticized him for his embrasement of the far-right elements of the Tea Party movement, his ultraconservative views and the Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal, calling him "fiscally irresponsible".

Announced

 * J.D. Hayworth, Former U.S. Congressman

Withdrawn

 * Jim Deakin, Businessman