PHOENIX -- As U.S. Sen. John McCain readies his official announcement of a bid for a sixth term, national "tea party" organizations are stepping up their efforts to find a viable conservative opponent to challenge him in Arizona's 2016 Republican primary.
McCain, who will turn 80 before Election Day, has universal name recognition as a former GOP presidential nominee. But while he would have the advantages of incumbency, including an influential perch as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, he also would have to convince the electorate that after more than 30 years on Capitol Hill he has not overstayed his welcome.
Over the years, McCain has taken positions that many tea-party conservatives oppose: most notably his support of comprehensive immigration reform, which critics say would provide "amnesty" to illegal immigrants, and of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which they viewed as a big-government bailout.
Besides being a top target of big spending by out-of-state groups, McCain also must manage a long rocky relationship with his local conservative base. Since Arizona Republican Party activists formally censured him as too liberal in January 2014, McCain and his establishment allies have made progress in moderating the state GOP's internal politics by encouraging like-minded Republicans to run for party posts.
Appearing at this year's state GOP meeting on Jan. 24, McCain was greeted by a noisy mix of boos and cheers. About a dozen people stood with their backs to McCain while he spoke.
"The grass roots in Arizona want McCain to retire or be replaced by a conservative in the primary next year," said Ken Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general who now is president of the Senate Conservatives Fund.
The tea-party-aligned group last year unsuccessfully tried to oust now-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and veteran Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi in their primaries.
"If a strong, viable conservative runs, SCF is ready and willing to support them," Cuccinelli said. "Arizona voters deserve to have senators who share their values."
For their part, McCain and his allies maintain he will be prepared for whatever might confront him in the primary.
"There has been no stronger opponent of President (Barack) Obama's feckless and failed foreign policy than Senator John McCain," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said. "He's proud of his conservative record of small government, low taxes and a strong national defense, and would match that record against anyone's."
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McCain could face national 'tea party' battle for seat