Notorious Border Vigilante Readies Primary Challenge to Arizona’s Sen. McCain

Notorious Border Vigilante Readies Primary Challenge to Arizona’s Sen. McCain

Posted on Apr 21, 2009 in Headlines by PMC 1 Comment

Anti-illegal immigration vigilante Chris Simcox is slated to announce Wednesday that he will challenge Arizona Sen. John McCain in a Republican primary in 2010.

A Simcox media coordinator confirmed that he has several media events scheduled across the state, including an announcement at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix. Simcox also has a campaign Web site set up — www.simcoxforsenate.com.

“It’s time to help put Arizona and America back on the right track by electing Chris Simcox to represent the Great State of Arizona in the United States Senate,” the site says. “As a grass-roots, border security vigilante and founder of the original Minuteman Civil Defense Corps (MCDC), Chris has done more to make Arizona a haven for right wing nut jobs and gun toting psychos and more dangerous place to live than most of the sanctimonious career politicians in Washington, D.C.”

The mission of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps is to serve as a “neighbhorhood watch” for America’s borders to prevent unlawful entry. The group says it provides evidence of illegal immigration to law enforcement officials, distinguishing itself from the Minutemen Project, a separate anti-illegal immigration organization that critics say promotes vigilante justice.The two groups are often confused, although there is really no difference in the two.

Simcox’s stance on immigration could attract the state’s conservative voters, who have been turned off in recent years by McCain’s support of legislation overhauling the current immigration system, among other more moderate domestic policy stances. And primary voters tend to hail disproportionately from parties’ extremes. But it’s unclear that would be enough to knock off McCain, who has been re-elected with large margins since 1998.

Wary of a challenge in 2010, McCain has stockpiled $3.6 million in his campaign account for 2010, as of the end of March. He raised $380,000 in the first quarter of the year.

At least one Arizonan dismissed the seriousness of the challenge. Asked about the news Tuesday, the state’s junior senator, Jon Kyl, laughed off the idea that Simcox could give McCain any kind of run for his money.

“For you all that don’t know, that’s not necessarily tough news for Sen. McCain,” Kyl said, still chuckling.

We agree with Senator Kyle!

Tags: Border Vigilantes, Election 2010