By Reid Wilson | The Hill
Ambitious Republicans anxious for a shot at a U.S. Senate seat have begun quietly jockeying to be appointed as the successor to Sen. John McCain (R), even as he battles an aggressive form of brain cancer.
The lobbying campaigns, described to The Hill by half a dozen GOP strategists and aides, have angered many Republicans, who see any public chatter as disrespectful to a senator who has helped shape modern Arizona.
Chief among those upset is the man who would make an appointment, Gov. Doug Ducey (R), who issued a brushback pitch during a radio appearance last week.
“I have found it a little bit off color, some of the prognosticators and pundits who have been making these predictions as to the senator’s outcome. I think people should be praying for him and rooting for him,” Ducey told KTAR radio. “To the politicians out there that have been openly lobbying for this position, they’ve basically disqualified themselves by showing their true character.”
