McCain stomps Glassman, easily wins 5th Senate term

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican John McCain put the finishing touches Tuesday on a re-election campaign that initially promised to be a fight for his political life but ended as a blowout that gave him a fifth term in the U.S. Senate.

McCain trounced little-known Democrat Rodney Glassman, carrying about 60 percent of the vote, compared to Glassman’s 34 percent.

“It’s very difficult to beat John McCain,” said Fred Solop, chairman of Northern Arizona University’s politics and international affairs department. “He is a former presidential candidate, certainly an icon in Arizona.”

An Associated Press analysis of preliminary exit poll results and pre-election polls shows that McCain won over six of 10 independent voters, and nine of 10 Republicans. The analysis also found that most voters who say they support the tea party movement voted for McCain, while most who oppose the movement voted for Glassman.

“I look forward to going back to Washington and carrying out what I think is the mandate, which is to stop the spending, repeal and replace Obamacare, get our expenses under control and get the border secured,” McCain said.

The general election leg of McCain’s campaign proved less formidable than his Republican primary challenge from former six-term congressman J.D. Hayworth.

Glassman is a 32-year-old former Tucson city councilman who cast himself as an earnest advocate of public education and alternative energy.

Glassman didn’t gain much traction in saying that the state has missed out on funding for public works projects because of McCain’s opposition to special funding requests known as earmarks. Glassman also was dogged by allegations that his 2005 doctoral dissertation contained plagiarized material. He denied the allegation.

Glassman said McCain’s leftover campaign funds from his failed presidential bid posed a barrier for his Senate challengers. “From the very beginning, there was a financial strength that was very difficult to compete with,” Glassman said.

McCain won another Senate term despite having been labeled at the outset of his re-election campaign as a vulnerable incumbent. In the end, he crushed Hayworth in the primary.

McCain struck a pugnacious tone in the primary. McCain used some of the nearly $20 million he spent to defeat Hayworth on a TV ad in which he walked along a section of fortified border with Mexico, fumed about smugglers and declared, “Complete the danged fence.”

He also accused Hayworth of being a “huckster” for appearing in an infomercial promoting free government money on behalf of a company accused of swindling customers.

He didn’t show the same intensity in the race against Glassman, Green Party candidate Jerry Joslyn and Libertarian David Nolan.

Instead, his general election campaign consisted mostly of making appearances on behalf of other candidates, running one statewide TV ad, participating in one televised debate and portraying Glassman as an inexperienced candidate.

The only general election TV ad advocating for his re-election had a soft-sell message that contained a voice-over from the 74-year-old candidate saying he has stood up for the state and would return the Arizona to prosperity.

McCain has represented Arizona in Congress for nearly three decades and never lost a race in the state.