The early vote tallies of Arizona on Tuesday stoked some speculation that President Trump is being haunted by the ghost of late Republican Sen. John McCain in the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Trump and Mr. McCain, the 2008 GOP presidential nominee, had a stormy relationship that included personal insults and high-profile legislative clashes.
Mike Murphy, a GOP consultant, said during an appearance on MSNBC that Mr. McCain, who died in 2018, could end up getting the last laugh.
Mr. Murphy said the early vote tallies in Mr. McCain’s adopted state are looking “very promising for Joe Biden.”
“There is one red state left in the Sun Belt that I do think is probably going to flip to Joe Biden, which is probably Arizona,” Mr. Murphy said. “It could be the revenge of John McCain.”
Mr. Trump mocked Mr. McCain’s military service in the 2016 GOP presidential race.
“He’s not a war hero,” Mr. Trump said in July 2015. “He’s a war hero because he was captured. I like people that weren’t captured.”
Mr. McCain, a Navy pilot, was shot down over Hanoi on a bombing mission in 1967 and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war at the Hanoi Hilton.
Mr. McCain, meanwhile, returned to Washington after being diagnosed with cancer to cast an iconic “thumbs down” vote against the Trump administration’s push to repeal Obamacare.
Mr. McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, endorsed Mr. Biden in the 2020 presidential race, drawing the ire of Trump backers, including conservative talk show host Mark Levin.
On Tuesday, Mr. Levin blamed Mrs. McCain for handing Arizona to Mr. Biden, before networks made an official call.
“Congratulations Cindy McCain,” Mr. Levin said on Twitter. “You helped cost us Arizona.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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