Meghan McCain cautioned Democrats not to “get out over their skis,” noting that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of former President Donald Trump leaves a large swath of the battleground state’s voters in limbo.
McCain, a political commentator and daughter of the late Republican Senator John McCain, posted the warning on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday night.
“RFK is polling between 6-7% in Arizona which could make a real difference. Democrats shouldn’t get out over their skis, this is still a toss up race – despite how many celebrity endorsements they have,” she wrote.
Numerous celebrities have backed both campaigns, with Spike Lee, Kerry Washington, and Mark Cuban among those supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, and Dana White, Elon Musk, and Kid Rock supporting Trump’s campaign.
RFK is polling between 6-7% in Arizona which could make a real difference.
Democrats shouldn’t get out over their skis, this is still a toss up race – despite how many celebrity endorsements they have.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 24, 2024
The Hill’s Arizona aggregate poll of Trump, Harris, and Kennedy Jr., which is based on 12 polls prior to Kennedy Jr.’s withdraw, showed Harris at 44.8 percent of the vote, Trump with 43.3 percent, and Kennedy Jr. at 6 percent in the state.
Hours before McCain’s X post, Kennedy Jr., the third-party candidate with the highest polling, dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump, the GOP’s nominee. On average, national aggregate polls found Kennedy Jr. drawing about 5 percent of the vote, a figure that could influence the outcome of the election given the small margin between Trump and Harris.
Most national aggregates show Harris, the Democratic nominee, in the lead, though she and Trump are deadlocked in battleground states, such as Arizona, which are often most indicative of the path to 270 Electoral College votes and The White House.
Aggregate polls, both state and national, are consistently updated as new polling data is added, shifting the averages in real time, the following percentages are reflective of Saturday afternoon. The New York Times‘ aggregate Arizona state poll shows Harris and Trump at an even 47 percent each. FiveThirtyEight’s aggregate Arizona poll puts Harris in the lead by 1.4 percentage points, 45.8 percent to Trump’s 44.4 percent, whereas The Hill puts Trump up by 0.1 percentage points, at 47.3 percent to Harris’ 47.2 percent.
The race for Arizona’s 11 Electoral College votes is now mainly between Harris and Trump.
In a recent X post, McCain spoke about Kennedy Jr.’s family’s response to his exit and endorsement of Trump, reiterating that, “I don’t support Trump and will not be supporting Trump.”
Newsweek has reached out to Cain’s production company’s press team and Harris’ and Trump’s campaigns via email for comment on Saturday afternoon.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for TIME
A recent Univision poll, conducted between August 1 and 8, shows 59 percent of likely Hispanic voters in Arizona said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Harris, while only 34 percent said the same for Trump.
Meanwhile, among non-Hispanic voters, Trump lead Harris by 16 points, with 55 percent saying they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, while 39 percent said the same for Harris.
The poll surveyed 721 Hispanic voters in Arizona and 858 non-Hispanic voters. There was a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points for Hispanic voters and plus or minus 3.4 percentage points for non-Hispanic voters.
