Sen. Jeff Flake viewed more favorably by Arizona Democrats than GOP

PHOENIX – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, the Arizona Republican at the center of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation process, is viewed more favorably in his home state by Democrats than his own party, according to recent polling.

An OH Predictive Insights/ABC15 poll of likely Arizona voters found that 59 percent of Democrats had a favorable view of Flake but only 20 percent of Republicans did.

Overall, only 38 percent of Arizonans viewed Flake favorably.

“As it stands, there’s not really a party in the Senate – especially when you play to your base, and not as much to the middle of the road — that he really fits in anymore,” Noah Rudnick, data analyst with OH Predictive, told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday.

Flake was viewed unfavorably by 54 percent of all Arizonans, 71 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Democrats.

The breakdown among independents was 51 percent unfavorable and 43 percent favorable.

Flake’s support was more evenly split among women, with 48 percent unfavorable and 43 percent favorable. With men, it was 61 percent unfavorable and 33 percent favorable.

The poll was conducted Monday-Tuesday, several days after last week’s Senate Judiciary Hearing about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh when they were high schoolers.

Last Friday, a day after the hearing, Flake voted with the majority to move Kavanaugh’s nomination to the full Senate — but only under the condition that the FBI was given time to investigate the accusations first.

Flake’s term expires this year, and he chose not to run for re-election. He will be succeeded by either Republican Rep. Martha McSally or Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.

Rudnick said the results for Flake were similar to when the late Republican Sen. John McCain voted thumbs down on President Donald Trump’s attempt to repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Among Arizonans who approve of Trump, 76 percent viewed Flake unfavorably and 16 percent viewed him favorably. The trend was reversed among those who disapproved of Trump, with 64 percent favorable and 30 percent unfavorable.

“It seems like a lot of favorables can shift — close to 40 to 50 percent of a party could view you favorably or unfavorably in the blink of an eye based on how you react to Trump,” Rudnick said.

“I think that holds a lesson with any senators looking to break ranks versus toeing the party line.”

The poll of 600 likely Arizona voters had a margin of error of plus or minus four percent.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Griselda Zetino contributed to this report.

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