McCain's Arizona GOP Critics Press On

Sen. John McCain's status as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has done little to ease the criticism that he faces from a small but vocal group of conservatives in his home state.

A week ago, Republican activists living in the same state legislative district as the senator rejected nearly all the names that his campaign submitted as candidates to become delegates to the party's state convention on May 10.

Six people on the McCain slate did eventually become delegates, but were able to do so only because they had their feet in more than one camp, said Rob Haney, the Republican chairman of the district and McCain's most prominent critic in Arizona.

"The people who know him like him the least. He is a media darling, so the general population doesn't know his record - and conservatives do," Haney said, though noting that he doesn't believe that the development could derail his campaign.

The small group of conservatives have dogged McCain since he first ran for Congress in 1982. Their objections include his views on illegal immigration, campaign finance reform and abortion. They rallied around him during the "Keating 5" scandal but were turned off by his moderate positions in the 2000 presidential race.

While the group has been a nagging and sometimes embarrassing problem, McCain remains strong in Arizona. The latest polls show McCain has a sizable lead in Arizona in matchups against either of his two Democratic rivals.

State delegates will meet in Mesa on May 10 to pick Arizona's 50 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Arizona's rapid growth has benefited McCain. Long seen as a hotbed of old-time conservatism, a flood of new residents from California and elsewhere over the last 20 years has brought in more moderates.

McCain has responded to the criticism in the past by saying he's confident he has support from an overwhelming majority of Arizonans.

Sean McCaffrey, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, said many of the names submitted by the campaign weren't accepted as delegates for his home district, but he cautioned against interpreting the results as a swipe against McCain.

Other activists elected as delegates could be supporting McCain yet weren't on the list because they aren't personally close to the candidate, McCaffrey said.

"I feel comfortable in saying they are good Republicans," McCaffrey said of the delegates who weren't on the McCain slate.

The opposing interpretation is coming from people who wished another Republican candidate had emerged during the primary season, McCaffrey said.

Haney said McCain's conservative critics in Arizona won't support Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton or Barack Obama, but their vote for McCain won't be full-throated support. "You won't have an energized base to work our hearts out for the guy," Haney said.

Jeff Sadosky, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, declined to comment on his boss' Republican critics in Arizona, but said the senator is confident he will win his home state in November.

"Sen. McCain has very quickly been able to pull together the overwhelming majority of Republican voters across the country and is now able to expand his campaign to open-minded Independents and Democrats," Sadosky said.