Activists claimed Wednesday to have raised nearly $100,000 to help unseat Sen. Martha McSally in the few days since the Arizona Republican labeled a CNN reporter a “liberal hack.”
Progressive advocacy group MoveOn said its members have donated $98,600 to Mark Kelly, a U.S. Navy and NASA veteran running as a Democrat against Ms. McSally in November, after his GOP rival lobbed the insult last Thursday at CNN senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
Describing the slight as “so much more than a cheap, partisan name call,” MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting said is shows Ms. McSally “has no intention to uphold her oath to defend the Constitution” during President Trump’s impeachment trial currently underway in the Senate.
“Voters want accountability and are fired up to elect leaders who will act as a check on this lawless and corrupt president. We’ll see Senator McSally at the ballot box this November,” Ms. Epting said in a statement.
Mr. Raju had approached Ms. McSally in a Capitol Hill hallway to pose a question about Mr. Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate when he was rejected by the Republican and repeatedly called a “liberal hack.”
Ms. McSally, a retired U.S Air Force combat veteran, was appointed to office last year following the passing of former Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican.
Her campaign did not immediately return a message requesting for comment.
Defending her interaction with Mr. Raju shortly after it unfolded, Ms. McSally explained: “I’m a fighter pilot. I called it like it is.”
Her campaign has since offered supporters T-shirts referencing her exchange with Mr. Raju available for a $35 contribution.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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