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 County results McCain: 50–60% 60-70% Kimball: 50–60% | |||||||||||||||||
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The1986 United States Senate election in Arizona was held on November 4, 1986. Incumbent Republican U.S. SenatorBarry Goldwater decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term. The open seat was won byJohn McCain, Republican candidate and Incumbent United States Representative from Arizona's 1st congressional district and former Office United States Navy, as well as future2008 presidential candidate against DemocratBarack Obama, as so was Goldwater in1964 against incumbent DemocratLyndon B. Johnson. McCain would remain in the Senate until his death on August 25, 2018.
Initially, Democrats sought to recruit two-term governorBruce Babbit, but Babbit declined, ultimately to focus on a presidential bid.[1][2][3]
Kimball's campaign was subject to negative press from theArizona Republic andPhoenix Gazette. One Gazette columnist described him as displaying "terminal weirdness."[4] McCain ultimately won the election by a margin of 21%.[5]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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| Republican | John McCain | 521,850 | 60.48% | +11.02% | |
| Democratic | Richard Kimball | 340,965 | 39.51% | −8.87% | |
| Write-in | 106 | 0.01% | |||
| Majority | 180,885 | 20.96% | +19.88% | ||
| Turnout | 862,921 | ||||
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