McCain campaign manager resigns; polls show Pa. Senate race tight on eve of primary

McCain shakes up campaign; Pa. Senate race tight

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain’s re-election bid lost its campaign manager and another veteran Republican official, part of a shake-up for the Arizona lawmaker locked in a tight primary race with radio host and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

The pair of GOP hands — who started before Hayworth entered the race — will instead work on the Republican National Committee’s effort in Arizona. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said neither Shiree Verdone nor Mike Hellon, a former Arizona GOP chairman, were fired.

“Senator McCain is very grateful for all that Shiree and Mike have done to launch the re-election campaign and establish it on a firm footing and looks forward to working closely with them for victory in November,” Rogers said in a statement.

McCain, his party’s 2008 presidential nominee, drew a Republican primary challenge that has forced him to the right. The one-time champion of a moderate, bipartisan approach to immigration now is running ads demanding Washington finish “the danged fence” he once mocked.

McCain, who is seeking a fifth term, also has dropped his maverick label.

Hayworth, who hopes to tap anti-incumbent sentiments, has campaigned against McCain as a Washington insider who is weak on illegal immigration. Arizona recently adopted one of the toughest immigration laws in the country that cracks down on illegal immigrants.

Rogers said there was no announcement for a replacement at the top of the campaign and added McCain’s longtime circle of advisers would continue to shape the campaign.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a statement Monday saying Rep. John Spratt of South Carolina, who was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, is suffering from amnesia.

The statement calls the 67-year-old House Budget Committee chairman “Amnesiac John Spratt” and contained six bold-lettered allegations that he’s forgetting what’s happening in Washington.

“After 28 years in Washington, John Spratt’s memory is failing him,” it began. He “can’t even recall what Obamacare does … Now — worst of all — it seems he’s completely forgotten who he works for.”

“Obamacare” is the term used by critics of President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Spratt, who is in a tough re-election battle this year, has spoken more slowly in recent months and his posture is more stooped, prompting questions about his health. He announced he was suffering from Parkinson’s on March 30 as he filed to run for a 15th term. He says the disease is in its early stages and progressing slowly, and he insists it doesn’t affect his ability to work.

Andy Sere, a spokesman for the Republican committee, said the statement was not a swipe at Spratt. Asked for a similar type of statement criticizing a Democrat, Sere couldn’t cite another example.

State Sen. Mick Mulvaney, Spratt’s Republican opponent, has said the illness shouldn’t be a factor in the race and has not used it politically.

Spratt was traveling and could not be immediately reached for comment.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A poll released on the eve of Pennsylvania’s primary shows the Democratic race for U.S. Senate still too close to call.

U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak claimed 42 percent and fifth-term Sen. Arlen Specter had 41 percent among Democrats likely to vote, according to the Quinnipiac University survey released Monday.

Sixteen percent are undecided and 25 percent of those who favor one candidate over the other say they may still change their minds before casting ballots, the poll found.

More voters held favorable opinions of Specter — 50 percent — than Sestak, with 42 percent. But one-third held an unfavorable view of Specter, while 43 percent said they had not heard enough about Sestak, a second-term congressman, to form an opinion.

The statewide telephone survey of 951 Democrats was conducted Wednesday to Sunday. The sampling error margin is plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Associated Press writers Ben Evans in Washington and Peter Jackson in Harrisburg, Pa., contributed to this report.