Dear John,
After following political campaigns for sixty years, I've concluded there are three reasons to support a candidate.
- By far the most important is that the candidate will do a good job representing constituents, both as a national
representative and mindful of local needs and concerns.
- The second reason is because it really matters which political party controls the body (eg House or Senate).
- Finally, as most of us can't afford to contribute to every worthy candidate, we should support the ones who most need
our help.
I support Senator Martha McSally's election to
the US Senate for all three reasons.
First, Martha is a really good public
servant. After a distinguished career in the US Air force, Martha returned to Tucson and was elected to represent the people of
Southeastern Arizona in the House of Representatives. She quickly established herself as a leader in setting national policy while, at the
same time, tending to the needs of her constituents.
Martha is replicating that service now in the US Senate. Though she has only been in office since the beginning of the year, her Senate
colleagues already recognize her as an expert on national and homeland security issues, military and veterans affairs and immigration
policies, among others.
Martha spent much of the first six months of the year traveling around Arizona getting to know constituents from all parts of our great and diverse
State in order to know their concerns first hand, the better to represent them all.
Of course, we don't all have the same opinions, so a Senator has to take all of our views into consideration and try as much as possible to reflect
our views while making tough decisions. Martha works very hard to listen, learn and then explain the positions she takes. She makes
no excuses for being a conservative with a strong pro defense background – she has witnessed first hand the sacrifices many have made to
preserve freedom for the rest of us.
Her life experiences have also made Martha very empathetic – she knows what it's like to need some help. So part of her reason for serving is
appreciating how she can help others. And, she's passionate about it.
The most important reason to support Martha
is to keep her in a position to lead on critical national issues and serve the people of Arizona as Senator.
In our system of government, it frequently matters who is in control. A majority of senators can either confirm or reject a judicial nominee, for
example. We saw how important that was in the last Supreme Court nomination process. So, whether you consider yourself a strong party person or not,
your decisions at the ballot box can have an impact on national decisions where the party's differ.
On some of the most important matters – national defense, judges, taxes and immigration – the parties often do differ, so it matters which
party has the majority.
Today, Democrats control the House and Republicans have a slim majority in the Senate (53-47). Having served as Republican Whip, I believe it is
really important for Republicans to continue to lead the Senate, both to provide some balance to a very liberal House and to be able to carry the day
on critical issues like confirming good judges.
So, the second reason to support Martha
McSally to to maintain the majority for Republicans in the Senate.
And that brings us to the third reason.
Martha needs our help. From the
moment she was appointed to the Senate by Governor Ducey, she has been targeted by the national Democrats as their number one priority to beat. They
hand-picked a candidate who is raising record amounts of campaign funds. And, they're already bragging about having both Senators in Arizona for
the first time since before Barry Goldwater was elected in 1952.
Martha may not have to match her opponent in
money in order to win; but she'll have to be close. And that's the third reason I am supporting her.
I can't help every good candidate, but I can help some. In Martha's case, all of us who believe in her must do everything we can to help her win. I
would feel terrible if Martha cannot succeed because she didn't have the necessary funding.
She can work her heart out crisscrossing Arizona; but if we don't help her, the big money from liberal national
interests could swamp her campaign. We can't let that happen; and each one of us can do something about it.
I'm asking you to join me in helping Martha
by contributing what you can to her campaign.
Thank you,
Jon Kyl
Former United States Senator (R-AZ)
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