Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey will have big shoes to fill as he mulls over
who he will appoint to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late
John McCain until a special election can be held to complete McCain's
term.
McCain, 81, lost his year-long battle with brain cancer
Saturday, leaving behind a decades-long legacy in politics which
included presidential runs.
Even as he took a months-long hiatus from Washington to
recover in his home state, McCain maintained a voice in Congress,
sharing his opinion on legislation and frequently criticizing President
Trump’s agenda.
McCain was one of the first to express opposition to Trump’s
first presidential pardon
in August 2017 of Joe Arpaio — the former sheriff of Arizona’s Maricopa
County who was found guilty of a misdemeanor contempt-of-court charge
in a trial prosecuted by the Justice Department.
A week earlier, McCain slammed Trump’s remarks
surrounding last year's violence in Charlottesville, Va., writing in a
tweet there’s "no moral equivalency between racists & Americans
standing up to defy hate & bigotry."
In September 2017, McCain shocked his Republican
colleagues with a thumbs-down vote against a replacement for
"Obamacare," the health care law approved under President Barack Obama.
“I cannot in good conscience vote for the
Graham-Cassidy proposal. I believe we could do better working together,
Republicans and Democrats, and have not yet really tried,” McCain
wrote,
in part, after his dramatic vote. “I take no pleasure in announcing my
opposition. Far from it. The bill’s authors are my dear friends, and I
think the world of them. I know they are acting consistently with their
beliefs and sense of what is best for the country. So am I.”
Trump signed a military policy bill in August named for
McCain, but in a sign of their testy relationship the president made no
mention of McCain's name in remarks at a signing ceremony.
Here’s what happens to Mccain’s Senate seat, according to Arizona election law.
Governor appoints a new senator
Arizona is one of 36 states where a governor makes an appointment to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures. Therefore, Gov. Ducey will appoint an interim senator to fill McCain’s seat.
Because McCain was a Republican, state law requires
Ducey to appoint a member of the same party — a move that’s critically
important for the Trump administration, as the GOP currently holds a
bare 51-49 Senate majority.
The newly appointed senator would be in office until
the next general election in November 2020. The interim senator would
not be obligated to run in that election.
Whomever is elected to the Senate seat in November 2020 would complete McCain's term, which expires in January 2023.
What happens if the governor chooses a member of Congress?
If Ducey chooses one of the state’s current
congressional members to fill the seat, then a special election would
need to be held to fill that empty spot.
According to the Arizona State Legislature, that election would have to be held “not less than 120 nor more than 133 days” after the vacancy occurs.