I’ll pass: Sen. John McCain to skip Republican National Convention
Apr 19, 2016, 3:23 PM
PHOENIX — When Republicans descend on Cleveland later this year for the party’s national convention, at least one familiar face won’t be among them.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will skip the convention to instead focus on his race against Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.).
“McCain will be working and campaigning throughout Arizona during the convention,” his campaign manager, Lorna Romero, said. “He has always taken every election seriously. This year is no different.”
Two months ago, a poll had McCain and Kirkpatrick in a theoretical dead heat for the Senate seat the former has held since 1986.
This year’s Republican convention could be one for the ages. Front-runner Donald Trump still has a path to the nomination, but the convention could become contested.
While the New York billionaire has generated enough controversy himself, the good chance that he and Ted Cruz would square off over the nomination in Cleveland promises plenty of drama.
Having spent months relying on a slim staff, Trump has started hiring more seasoned campaign veterans. He acknowledges that bringing new people into his orbit may cause some strife, but says the moves were necessary at this stage of the race.
“When you bring other people in, I could see some people their feelings get a little bit hurt,” Trump said Tuesday on Fox News. “But frankly, you know, we’re in a position where we’d like to see if we can close it out.”
Cruz’s campaign feels confident that it’s mastered the complicated process of lining up individual delegates who could shift their support to the Texas senator after the first round of convention balloting.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
