Arizona state troopers withdraw Kyrsten Sinema endorsement

Kyrsten Sinema has had a rough couple of weeks. Late yesterday her campaign hit another bump in the road when the Arizona State Troopers Association, which had endorsed her run for the Senate, did an about-face and withdrew their endorsement. From the Arizona Republic:

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The association, which represents Arizona Department of Public Safety employees and retirees, had endorsed Sinema in the past three federal elections…

This year, some members told The Arizona Republic that the association’s executive board voted to endorse Sinema without their input.

That led the association to send out a poll via email to members asking whether they wanted to endorse Sinema or stay neutral in the Senate race.

An email sent by the association to members on Oct. 22, which was obtained by The Republic, says that the recent poll showed “the membership has indicated a preference to stay neutral.”

The page on Sinema’s campaign website which previously touted the group’s endorsement is now blank. Sinema’s campaign had also run an ad highlighting the endorsement but the ad is no longer running. From AZ Family:

A 30-second commercial that showed law enforcement support for Sinema ran for an undisclosed amount of time.

“The TV ad ran its full course and it’s not airing anymore” explained Sinema’s campaign spokeswoman Helen Hare…

“We respect the association’s decision to remain neutral given the divisive tone of the race and appreciate their support for Kyrsten’s past three elections, as well as continued support from members and law enforcement officers across the state,” explained Hare.

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The Association is not switching its endorsement to Martha McSally, Sinema’s GOP opponent, just choosing to remain neutral. Still, the withdrawal of the endorsement comes after a couple weeks of bad news for Sinema’s campaign, from the unearthing of her old anti-war campaign posters to a series of statements calling Arizona “crazy” and labeling it the “meth lab of democracy.” It has felt as if the wheels were beginning to come off the Sinema campaign and this withdrawal probably adds to that sense.

That said, the polls show this is still a tight race. Real Clear Politics average of polls currently has McSally leading by less than a full point. The most recent poll, from the NY Times, has McSally up two points.

Here’s a local news report about the endorsement withdrawal from 3 TV in Phoenix:

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