wGILBERT, Ariz. -- The cast of "Survivor" has nothing on Sen. John McCain.

Once labeled a vulnerable incumbent, the four-term Arizona Republican is the clear front-runner against challenger J.D. Hayworth after spending some $20 million and casting his GOP opponent as a late-night infomercial huckster in a series of devastating ads. The primary is Tuesday.

McCain, who turns 74 on Aug. 29, has survived the deadly 1967 explosion on the USS Forrestal, 5 1/2 years in a Vietnam POW camp after being shot down near Hanoi and skin cancer. Politically, he has persisted through the Keating Five savings and loan scandal, and two failed bids for the White House.

"I have stood up and led the fight as a fiscal conservative and a leader on national defense and a strong supporter of the men and women who are fighting and sacrificing for this nation," McCain told a woman who questioned his record at a town-hall meeting last Thursday.

Long unpopular with some home-state conservatives, McCain immediately recognized the threat posed by Hayworth, a talk-radio host and former six-term congressman from Scottsdale. And he set out to neutralize it. McCain also realized that the anti-establishment fervor could cost him his seat in the primary; it already had claimed two other senators -- Republican Bob Bennett of Utah and Democrat Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania.

McCain tossed aside his self-described "maverick" label and adopted a hard-line stand on immigration just a few years after working with Democrats on a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally. "Complete the danged fence," he says in a campaign ad, three years after dismissing the effectiveness of building a fence on the U.S.-Mexico border.

A series of McCain ads called Hayworth a "huckster," showing clips of him in an infomercial telling viewers they can get free government money. It was an embarrassment for a candidate running as a fiscal conservative, and it caught Hayworth flat-footed. At first he defended it, then apologized as the story lived on for weeks.

"I think McCain's truthful. J.D. Hayworth sure isn't. He's a liar," said Martha Moloney, a 72-year-old church worker from Mesa.

One poll last month showed McCain with a lead of as much as 45 percentage points.

"J.D. Hayworth is deader than Elvis," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.

Hayworth is undaunted. He has had an exhausting series of campaign events throughout Arizona, mostly in rural areas away from Phoenix. On a remote stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border, he criticized McCain for not supporting a change in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution to eliminate the automatic grant of citizenship to anyone born in the United States.

"In the final analysis, it ain't me, it's John McCain and his record that will be held to account," Hayworth told The Associated Press.

Hayworth aides argue that McCain is vulnerable on immigration in a state that has adopted the nation's toughest law cracking down on illegal immigrants. A Hayworth ad accused the incumbent of lying about his stand on the issue -- a charge the McCain campaign denies, but which resonates with voters supporting the challenger.
wwwwto think about Arizona. McCain just doesn't care about the constituents. He doesn't care about Arizona," said Judy Howard, a 51-year-old retired federal probation official who said she'll probably vote for Hayworth.

Hayworth has an enthusiastic crowd of supporters, but his challenge grows larger every day as the number of potential voters dwindles. In Maricopa County, where a majority of Arizonans live, more than half of 350,000 Republican early ballots had already been returned by Friday.

Jim Deakin, a contractor and Navy veteran, is pursuing the same tea party activists Hayworth is courting. Deakin's throw-the-bums-out message combined with an everyman charm and no elective office experience could siphon anti-McCain votes from Hayworth.

Despite polls showing a likely win, McCain isn't letting up. He spent $3.5 million on the race in July, most of it from the legal fund of his 2008 presidential campaign. By Aug. 4, McCain had spent $19.6 million to Hayworth's $2.6 million -- a "lie and buy" strategy, Hayworth says.

But Hayworth hasn't helped his cause. He incorrectly said the United State never declared war on Nazi Germany in World War II, and suggested that a Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage might allow a man to marry his horse.

"I don't think J.D.'s got the analytical ability to come up with the decisions that need to be made in this environment," said Al Sondergaard, a 79-year-old retired Caterpillar manufacturing supervisor.

The winner of the GOP primary will face one of four Democrats: retired investigative journalist John Dougherty, former state administrator Cathy Eden, former Tucson City Councilman Rodney Glassman or political activist Randy Parraz. Glassman, who has loaned his campaign $500,000 and raised as much from others, is the front-runner who would face a tough time trying to beat McCain.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/24/mccain-aiming-right-seeks-victory-primary/

Hayworth is a scam artist. I didn't know about the infomercials, and then lying about it. Not to mention how close he was and or is to Jack Abramnoff and is very lucky he didn't end up with charges, it came really close.

I hope Senator McCain pulls through, which it looks like he clearly will, no problem what so ever. I have always liked him. He also has been a thorn in Obama's side since election day, everything Obama has done McCain has led the fight against. We don't wanna lose that now.

McCain also has the Military experience we are going to need in the House and Senate to chair a couple committees when Republican's take back both houses in November. We are in the middle of two wars and we need someone like Senator McCain in the Senate who has been there, let large combat units, been held as a POW etc.

Sure Senator McCain has made mistakes, as have just about every member of the House and Senate. He has done a complete 180 degree turnaround in in the house since 2007. I hope he wins.

Couple of Hayworth's scandals.

Wife Payment

Between 2001 and 2005 inclusive, Hayworth's wife Mary was legally paid $20,400 per year by TEAM PAC, Hayworth's leadership political action committee. In 2002, a spokesman for Hayworth said that his wife handled bookkeeping and many administrative details for the PAC.

Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal

In 1997, Hayworth helped stop a proposal to tax Indian casinos, which would have taken $1.9 billion off reservations. Senator John McCain's campaign "has attacked Hayworth's ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was sentenced in September 2008 to four years in prison on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy and tax evasion."

www.wikipedia.org\JD Hayworth

Hayworth saddled by Abramoff scandal in Arizona senate primary

Blogging from Phoenix—The Republican primary fight between incumbent Senator John McCain and talk radio’s J.D. Hayworth is getting nasty. Mr. Hayworth who spent six terms in congress before ties to organized corruption and financial scandal inspired voters to toss him out, is displaying reluctance to release the names of those who have been helping him settle legal bills he accumulated in connection with corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Hayworth inaugurated his campaign by attempting to hurl some political mud, but is now whining that John McCain is conducting a smear campaign. A fact check reveals the McCain camp formally requested J.D. make public the names of those who contributed to his freedom in truth trust which was established to pay off $142,000 in legal bills left over from the Abramoff scandal Senator McCain points out in a web ad that Hayworth has a moral obligation to let voters know exactly who gave cash to retire his debt.

The Web video calls on Hayworth to “come clean on his Abramoff trust fund. Hayworth’s campaign accused McCain of attempting to smear the former congressman by highlighting his relationship to Jack Abramoff under the ruse of calling for transparency. The record indicates Mr. Hayworth actually pledged last year to release the names of those who donated if he entered the Senate race.

Hayworth claims that despite having racked up nearly one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in legal bills he was never one of the major players in the congressional influence-peddling scandal. While Mr. Hayworth managed to avoid criminal charges during the investigation and eventual conviction of Jack Abramoff, it exposed sordid and unsavory conduct that most political pundits agree cost J.D his seat in congress and swung a traditionally GOP seat into the democratic fold.

Revelations of unreported box seats at sporting events, cash from Indian casino’s linked to Abramoff and in kind contributions that Hayworth initially failed to disclose began to consume the campaign news cycle in his 2006 congressional race. In the last couple weeks of the race when his democratic challenger began to close in the polls, the wheels seemed to fall off Hayworth’s campaign, a staffer dispatched to shore up support for J.D. at a Jewish synagogue ended up insulting the congregation.

His emaciated physical appearance sparked rumors of prescription drug abuse and blogs circulated allegations of marital infidelity. In the weeks following the election Hayworth seemed to become detached from reality and refused to accept he had lost the race, proclaiming confidence in a statistical election miracle that uncounted overseas and mail in ballots would swing his way and he refused to concede. Weeks later as Harry Mitchell was preparing to join other freshman representatives in D.C for orientation J.D had yet to admit he was no longer a congressman.

I speculate J.D. Hayworth knows his chances of beating John McCain are slim to none, but at the end of the day, he will have raised a pile of campaign cash and under current law, what ever is left is his to keep, at least thats my view, yours may be different.

http://www.bloggernews.net/124000

He admitted in the article that he wasn't one of the major players, which mean's he did play atleast some, but I think a lot more then hes admitting to. Also not mentioning the names. Tisk, Tisk , Tisk.

I also think it's wrong that they get to keep csampaign cash at the end of the campaign. It should have to goto charity.

Senator McCain's got this one in the bag, and Republican's can control him now and wont be a wild card anymore.

I don't care for McCain because he is Pro-Illegal and open borders.

McCain extremly changed his positions two years ago. He is helping fight for the Immigration bill in Arizona.

Just a few months ago, I believe I heard he was on board for the Obammy Amnesty Plan.

Nope, he has been the #1 person to go against everything Obama's doing.

I don't like McLame, and I really don't care much for Hayworth - but if I hadda pick, it's time for McLame to go visit the pasture and graze for a while ...

what makes him#1, I understand MOST the republicans have voted NO on any proposal presented to them,,,,,,

and that is the way we like it..

He's led the fight against the Obama regime.

by what standard has he LEAD as opposed to just following the other republicans?

McClain won, if anyone cares...

I knew months ago he would win. Hayworth is a nightmere.