Arizona among states most likely to switch parties in 2018 Senate election

PHOENIX — The future of the race for U.S. Senate in Arizona has intensified.

The Senate race in Arizona has been ranked as the fourth-most likely to switch parties after the election, according to The Washington Post.

CNN also ranked Arizona as the third-most likely state in the nation to switch parties in 2018, saying Sen. Jeff Flake would lose “by a lot.”

Flake, the state’s junior senator, is up for reelection in 2018.

But he is not alone in the fight for the Senate seat: Dr. Kelli Ward is Flake’s sole primary challenger, while U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema and Phoenix lawyer Deedra Abboud are running for the Democratic Party.

The publication ranked Arizona among the states that are most likely to switch from Republican to Democrat in the 2018 midterm election because of Flake’s ongoing feud with other Republicans, most notably President Donald Trump.

“Arizona is shaping up to be ground zero for Republicans’ war with itself, a war Flake arguably brought on himself when he wrote a book criticizing Trump,” the publication wrote.

Related: Arizona lawyer floats Senate run

Flake’s book, “Conscience of a Conservative,” took the Republican Party to task over Trump’s rise to the White House.

In addition, Flake has repeatedly taken aim at Trump in the past, and the pair have engaged in lively arguments online for months.

In August, Trump hit the senator in a tweet, calling Flake “toxic” and encouraging his rival for his seat. The president has not yet formally endorsed Ward.

In response, Flake said he had better things to do than pay attention to Trump’s criticisms, adding that “it is what it is and we’ve got a lot of support around the state and we’ve got a good campaign. It’ll take care of itself.”

Both Sinema and Ward are ramping up their campaign efforts.

The Arizona representative has brought in more than $4.1 million and reportedly has the support of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the head Democratic member of the U.S. Senate.

Ward, on the other hand, has added two political strategists who raised big money for Trump to her campaign and will hold a campaign event in Scottsdale featuring former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

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