She didn’t come close. Instead, Kirkpatrick doubled down on Obamacare by once again calling it her proudest vote, embraced President Obama’s disastrous foreign policy and national security strategies, and told voters that she finds Hillary Clinton trustworthy.
In other words, the debate performance was a flop. Liberal Arizona Republic columnist E.J. Montini writes that Kirkpatrick failed in her effort to distinguish herself from John McCain:
“There’s an old axiom in boxing that if you want to unseat a champion you have to knock him out, because if it comes down to scoring, the judges are bound to give the titleholder the benefit of the doubt.
“This is particularly true if you’re punching above your weight, which is what Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick is doing against Sen. John McCain.”
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“Kirkpatrick pointed to McCain’s acceptance – until recently – of having Trump with his finger on the nuclear arsenal. It was kind of a big, roundhouse swing that, at best, turned out to be a glancing blow.
“She needed to land that punch squarely.
“It didn’t happen.”
When Kirkpatrick’s own team is admitting debate defeat, it’s clear that the absentee congresswoman failed to move the needle.