Arizona Republican Sen. Jeff Flake's retirement may help the GOP by allowing a fresh candidate to take his place in the upcoming election, CNN reports.
In private surveys by both Republican and Democratic groups, Flake is polling in the 20s and falling far behind primary challenger Kelli Ward. Despite this support, GOP strategists are reportedly uncertain that Ward can beat the Democratic candidate, Rep. Kyrsten Sinema.
"It's difficult to move forward in a Republican primary if you have been critical of any of the behavior that's gone on," the senator said on "The Lead with Jake Tapper" Tuesday.
"The one political upshot of Sen. Flake's decision today is that Steve Bannon's hand-picked candidate, conspiracy-theorist Kelli Ward, will not be the Republican nominee for this Senate seat in 2018," Steven Law, president of the GOP-supporting Super PAC the Senate Leadership Fund, told CNN.
State treasurer Jeff DeWit, formerly the chief operating officer of President Donald Trump's campaign, is the most talked about potential candidate, according to an unnamed Arizona Republican operative.
"The deal is, DeWit has two days to grab the ring. It's his if he wants it, but he's got to move quick. If he wants it, everyone steps out the way. If he doesn't, chaos ensues," the operative said, adding that DeWit "definitely has the president's support," unlike other candidates, who would have to work for it.
This unnamed operative also noted that Flake's announcement effectively undermined Ward's most prominent talking point.
"You could officially write the obituary for Kelli Ward's campaign today — it was nice knowing you. Her best campaign line was, 'I'm not that guy.'"
Other potential candidates include former congressional candidate and GoDaddy executive Christine Jones; Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich; and Reps. Paul Gosar, Martha McSally, Andy Briggs, and David Schweikert.
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