Prediction: If John McCain loses the Republican Primary,

[CanonRay]

he will run as an Independent. He has the same all consuming ego as his pal, Joe Lieberman. Comments?

[saltpoint]

1. Possible. There are a whole lot of very conservative votes in Arizona,

and it would be interesting to see how they split up in a (basically) 3-candidate race.

I'd hope it would allow a Democratic candidate to pick up that seat.

Do all 50 states allow someone who has lost a primary in one party to run in the general for another party?

[harkadog]

23. No. In fact most don't allow it. Arizona doesn't allow it.

[saltpoint]

25. Then for me, that is a very sweet 'no' indeed. Right now I think McCain

holds on versus Hayworth, but no one knows for sure what happens between now and August.

Both McCain and Hayworth are abominable.

[stray cat]

2. Like Lieberman he may win and be more popular state wide then the democratic or GOP candidate

I'm not sure if its ego if you run because you are better than your opponents

[no_hypocrisy]

3. And I predict if he doesn't win and doesn't run as an independent,

Palin will campaign for Hatfield.

[vi5]

4. He's not going to lose the primary.....

The Republican party is walking a fine line on this, and make no mistake about it they are not going to let someone so high profile and beloved by the mainstream media lose a primary to a more conservative candidate. I know at times it seems like the republican party is losing control of this tea party thing, but I can guarantee they've got the whole thing under control and have a very secure balancing act going on.

McCain won't lose the primary and then his "maverick, independent" credentials will be that much more pronounced and touted.

[nevergiveup]

6. Totally agree

In the end he will win by double digits but it was fun watching him be challenged and bowing down to Sarah.

[havocmom]

7. While it's wild to see him in a real primary race, I agree with you

The loonies in the boonies of AZ will go for Hatfield. But the big numbers are in Maricopa County, and the Phoenix 500 will assure the numbers favor McCain, one way or another.

For those who haven't noticed: Phoenix out-Chicagos Chicago machine politics, and technology has likely made it much easier to procure desired election results.

[Perky]

12. I think you are going to eat those words.

and that is is going to scrae the Hell out of Beltway Republicans. Crist, Bennett from Utah and McCain are all going to lose

[vi5]

37. I'll be so happy to eat those words....

I won't even need salt.

I just don't think I'm going to have to. But I'll be happy to be proven wrong and watch Grumpy McCain be embarrassed on a national level.

[craigmatic]

17. yeah it doesn't make sense to give the nod to a guy who already lost a conservative house seat

inspite of a guy who's won statewide several times in a row

[Hippo_Tron]

31. Well they did everything they could to prevent Charlie Crist from losing

And it looks like he's going to.

[HOLOS]

36. Rethugs Still Own Proprietary Code & Electronic Voting Machines n/t

[LiberalFighter]

5. Does Arizona allow a primary loser to run on another party ticket?

[seattle_blue]

10. Please do not quote me on this

Unless I'm mistaken, if McCain loses he's simply out. I don't think you can play political shell games in Arizona. I'm not 100% on this but I'm pretty sure. Peace out

[rasputin1952]

8. I don't think McCain will lose...

but that's still "iffy". I used to live in AZ, sure, it's Red, but the people there are actually pretty smart, and JD Hayworth is a complete tool. There have been few dumber than he in the House, the man had no friends, was shunned even when they thought they needed an extra vote. He'll garner some support among the Radical Right, but Hayworth would not garner statewide support. I think one of the reasons he was voted in in the first place, was so Arizonans would not have to listen to the idiot on the radio...:D

A Barrel Cactus has a higher IQ that Hayworth, and that insults the poor cactus.

[Gman]

9. I don't know who has the bigger ego. McCain or Hayworth

McCain is famous for his. But Hayworth was kicked out of office, but didn't get the hint. He goes on talk radio, let's himself get egged on by fellow nuts and now thinks that even though he's a loser, he can beat McCain.

[Perky]

11. I suspect not

Lieberman won as a independent because the there was a token Republican running and the GOP voted for Lieberman.

What you suggest is that Dems would vote in droves for McCain over the Dem nominee..... I just do not see it happening.

[Jennicut]

13. One thing to remember is Arizona is not Connecticut, the conservatives here went for Lieberman

as he was considered conservative enough in certain areas. Conservatism in CT and New England in general is of the more moderate kind. Not so sure about AZ and not so sure McCain would beat Hayworth in a 3 way race. The Repub candidate in CT also had zero following and support.

[Phx_Dem]

14. No, because he's has left his base (moderate republicans) behind

long ago in order to pander to the extreme right. There is no one to vote for him now. He should have let JD Haworth have the wacko crowd, and McCain should have renewed his long dead sense of moderation and gone after independents and moderate Republicans.

He's fucked.

[salguine]

15. Why do people on DU always assert that if someone runs for office outside of the

two-party system, it's driven by massive "ego"? I can't tell you how many times I've read that about Ralph Nader, and he's the least egotistical person I've ever met.

If all you have to say is senseless spluttering vitriol over my use of the N-word, spare me.

[saltpoint]

29. Lieberman's case is still fairly current in the political memory of

Democrats and progressives in Connecticut who flatly rejected his candidacy in favor of Lamont only to watch Lieberman run and eventually win in a third party bid.

You can say that was a Constitutionally protected right and/or you could argue that his ego would not accept Democratic voters' clear decision.

I acknowledge the first point but am going with the second point as Lieberman's motivation.

Evidently Arizona does not permit candidates who've lost a primary race to run as a candidate on another party's ballot line. I like that law. It respects the voters who showed up the first time to cast their votes for whom they wished to represent them.

[SwampG8r]

38. BWAHAHA the N word can i use that without acknowlegdment?

ita awesome funny but i dont want to go into a whole "well i read someone say it on..."conversation

[WeDidIt]

16. Betcha he doesn't run as an indie if he loses.

Arizona has a sore loser law.

[mkultra]

18. doubt it, he lost to Bush and sat tight

[TwilightGardener]

19. Nah, I think he'll call it quits for politics, at that point. He's old and tired, and

Cindy's money is there waiting for him. He'll be on the Sunday shows EVERY Sunday, not just every OTHER Sunday, the way it is now.

[BlueIdaho]

20. Agree

He will do anything to stay in power. His need for power comes from a a sense of inadequacy driven by his relationship to his father and his Wife's money. He will become a full blown hillbilly if that's what it takes.

[PatSeg]

27. That's the way I see it

He doesn't have anything to gain by staying in the Senate and he doesn't appear to be very healthy. He'll never run for president again and he's been in the Senate forever. A normal person would retire and spend time doing other things, but he just can't stand to lose. His "sense of inadequacy" is glaringly obvious whenever he has to interact with Obama. The guy seriously needs therapy.

[opihimoimoi]

21. McBlame has had his run in the sun....its time.....His Mil record entitled the hero status...

beyond that...its been all about him..

he lost it when Phalin came into the pic.

[harkadog]

22. Prediction: You will be wrong.

Arizona has a sore loser law and he can't run as a independent if he loses the primary.

[discopants]

24. He'll "suspend his campaign" to fix Washington before he loses the primary

He'll be a martyr and give up his Senate seat to fight the Liberal Democrat Party. He'll quit and go on a book tour, start wearing leather biker jackets, become a Fox News analyst...

[jillan]

26. McCain may be a huge asshole, but Hayworth is even worse. He's a combo of Palin & Dobbs.

[old mark]

28. McCain's lack of support is from the republican right - they think he is a Liberal!!!

His republican opponent is supposedly much more acceptable to the crazy right, which is were the GOP seems to be in Arizona. I am not sure even Palin can save old John this time - his career in elected politics may be over.

mark

[Cha]

30. mcain needs to lose so

they can stop presenting him as "moderate" "mavericky" "straight talkier"..sick of hearing about him on tv all the time. Not, that his big loss would prevent that. palin loses too.

I just talkied to my friend in Phoenix, AZ and she says she wants jd hayworth to beat mccain and the unknown dem to beat hayworth.

[ladywnch]

32. absolutely! it worked for Droopy Dog. I'm sure McCain can

bamboozle the residents of AZ just fine.

[tritsofme]

33. Arizona has a "sore loser" law

If you lose a primary, you cannot run as an independent in that same election.

[AnArmyVeteran]

34. A McCain loss will be a democratic win.

The more that crazy tea bagging nit wits increase their visibility, the more it will hurt them in the end. Independents, democrats, liberals, and even moderate republicans will all hate hearing what lunatics like JD Hayworth have to say. I haven't been able to detect one ounce of credibility in the tea party 'movement' because even in Arizona they are supporting the right wing JD Hayworth, even though the thug is ultra corrupt and received tons of money from the convicted felon and current jailbird Jack Abramoff.

[DCBob]

35. Crist may do the same in Florida..

When asked about this morning on Faux he denied it but he did sppear to leave some wiggle room.