Jeff Flake said Arizona could be lost by Donald Trump in a Sunday "Face the Nation" interview while an earlier report said John McCain's U.S. Senate seat there could be jeopardized by the Republican presidential candidate.
On the Sunday talk show, Flake pointed to Bill Clinton's winning Arizona in 1996 – the first Democrat to do so since Harry Truman in 1948 – as an example of how Hillary Clinton could capture the state once again if Trump's decline in the polls continue.
"In 1996, Bill Clinton won Arizona, so, yes, it's possible," Flake said. "The Hispanic population here is about 33 percent. The voting population among Hispanics isn't quite as large, but it's growing. And what the poll also showed, that there's an increased urgency among Hispanics to vote."
"And if they do, then it will be a changed ball game here. We in Arizona realize that we have got to have meaningful immigration reform. You can't just throw platitudes out there about a wall or about Mexico paying for it and then be taken seriously here. And so I think that, yes, he does have to change his positions and be a more serious candidate."
The Daily Beast reported in June that the combination of Trump and hard-line, outspoken Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio could drive up Latino participation to a point where it could topple McCain is his Senate race.
"Arizonans are ready for new leaders who will work to keep families together, support local communities, and put our state first," said D.B. Mitchell, a spokesman for the Ann Kirkpatrick, the Democrat running for McCain's seat, per The Daily Beast. "That's why folks across Maricopa County and all over our state are registering to vote and getting ready to turn out in record numbers this November."
The website FiveThirtyEight.com reported on Aug. 4 that Trump was running behind U.S. Republican Senate candidates in several states, including in Arizona, and noted that the McCain was up by five percent in the state while Trump is up by one percent in his presidential race.
"Trump is currently trailing Clinton in eight of these 10 states, including crucial tipping-point states such as Florida and Ohio," said Harry Enten, of FiveThirtyEight.com. "The two states where he isn't trailing Clinton, Arizona and Missouri, haven't voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1996.
"Even in these states, though, the Republican candidates for Senate (Sen. Roy Blunt in Missouri and Sen. John McCain in Arizona) are doing better than Trump is there. Unless Trump's position improves, Republicans will be able to maintain control of the Senate only if enough voters split their tickets, voting Republican for the Senate but not in the presidential race."
Trump endorsed McCain, along with House Speaker Paul Ryan and U.S. Kelly Ayotte, in a speech on Friday in Wisconsin after initially declining to do so earlier in the week, according to CNN.
"And while I'm at it, I hold in the highest esteem Sen. John McCain for his service to our country in uniform and in public office, and I fully support and endorse his re-election," Trump said.
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