Martha McSally tapped to fill Senate seat once held by McCain

Dec. 18, 2018 / 3:53 PM GMT

By Rebecca Shabad

WASHINGTON — GOP Rep. Martha McSally will fill the Senate seat once held by Sen. John McCain, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office said Tuesday.

“With her experience and long record of service, Martha is uniquely qualified to step up and fight for Arizona’s interests in the U.S. Senate. I thank her for taking on this significant responsibility and look forward to working with her and Senator-elect Sinema to get positive things done,” Ducey said in a statement.

The announcement comes just a few days after Republican Sen. Jon Kyl announced that he plans to retire from the Senate seat that he temporarily filled after McCain’s death over the summer.

McSally, who has served in the House since 2015, lost her recent Senate race in November to Democrat Kyrsten Sinema. McSally served in the Air Force for 26 years and retire as a full colonel in 2010. Her military career included deployments to the Middle East, including Afghanistan six times. She was the first woman in U.S. history to fly a fighter jet in combat.

McCain’s wife, Cindy, weighed in on the appointment of McSally on Tuesday.

My husband’s greatest legacy was placing service to AZ & USA ahead of his own self-interest. I respect @dougducey‘s decision to appoint @RepMcSally to fill the remainder of his term. Arizonans will be pulling for her, hoping that she will follow his example of selfless leadership

— Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) December 18, 2018

According to Arizona law, the state’s governor has the authority to appoint a replacement to an open Senate seat, and the replacement must belong to the same political party as the person being replaced.