Jon Kyl

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) and U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) told PolitickerAZ.com Saturday they recognize that Republicans are likely facing a serious deficit in the number of seats they will hold in the 111th Congress, but said the GOP can still have a major hand to play in the agendas of the House and Senate.

While polls nationwide indicate 2008 might be a repeat of the Democratic wave of 2006, or possibly worse for Republicans. Even contemplating that scenario, Kyl and Shadegg saw hopeful signs for their party.

John Shadegg, the senior-most Republican in the Arizona House delegation, sees ways Republicans can be effective if the outlook is as bleak in January as many are saying. Yet he is not willing to accept the premise of a Democratic tsunami on its face.

"I think the turnout models are all wrong," Shadegg asserted, also saying polling numbers aren't always accurate predictors of election results. "Thomas Dewey - remember that?" Shadegg asked, referring to the 1948 Republican presidential nominee whose election was seen as a sure thing, but who lost to Harry Truman nonetheless.

Still, Shadegg said, "It would appear Republicans are going to lose seats."

U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) and U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) told PolitickerAZ.com Saturday they recognize that Republicans are likely facing a serious deficit in the number of seats they will hold in the 111th Congress, but said the GOP can still have a major hand to play in the agendas of the House and Senate.

While polls nationwide indicate 2008 might be a repeat of the Democratic wave of 2006, or possibly worse for Republicans. Even contemplating that scenario, Kyl and Shadegg saw hopeful signs for their party.

John Shadegg, the senior-most Republican in the Arizona House delegation, sees ways Republicans can be effective if the outlook is as bleak in January as many are saying. Yet he is not willing to accept the premise of a Democratic tsunami on its face.

"I think the turnout models are all wrong," Shadegg asserted, also saying polling numbers aren't always accurate predictors of election results. "Thomas Dewey - remember that?" Shadegg asked, referring to the 1948 Republican presidential nominee whose election was seen as a sure thing, but who lost to Harry Truman nonetheless.

Still, Shadegg said, "It would appear Republicans are going to lose seats."

At a Phoenix rally for Republican presidential nominee John McCain Saturday, McCain's fellow U.S. senator from Arizona Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) described the path to a McCain victory in Tuesday's presidential election, and discussed the importance of a decisive victory in Arizona.

"In the national polls, John McCain is four points behind," Kyl told reporters at Desert Storm Park before Saturday's rally. "If he can chip away at that four point gap - one point Saturday, one point Sunday, one point Monday, one point Tuesday, he can win." 

Kyl disputed the accuracy of recent polls on the Arizona race, including one from Arizona State University that shows a two-point race between McCain and Sen. Barack Obama in the state. 

"The polls aren't tightening as much as you've been led to believe," said Kyl, who claimed that because the ASU poll surveyed registered but not necessarily likely voters, its results were disputable.

Between 200 and 300 supporters of Republican presidential nominee John McCain turned out to Desert Storm Park in Phoenix on Saturday, where U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) and U.S. Reps. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) and Jeff Flake (R-Mesa) addressed the crowd, but representation was highest for one group of non-voters: foreign journalists.

Television and radio crews from such far-flung locales as Spain, Poland and New Zealand were on hand for the event, and mobbed Kyl before the state's junior senator mounted the dais. Perhaps as many as ten such teams were on hand at Saturday's rally, meaning overseas news agencies represented as much as 10 percent of those in attendence.

The foreign press has been streaming into Arizona in anticipation of Tuesday night, when, following national returns, Sen. McCain will either concede the presidential contest or declare victory - or perhaps neither if the vote is close - at the Biltmore resort in Phoenix.

Between 200 and 300 supporters of Republican presidential nominee John McCain turned out to Desert Storm Park in Phoenix on Saturday, where U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) and U.S. Reps. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix) and Jeff Flake (R-Mesa) addressed the crowd, but representation was highest for one group of non-voters: foreign journalists.

Television and radio crews from such far-flung locales as Spain, Poland and New Zealand were on hand for the event, and mobbed Kyl before the state's junior senator mounted the dais. Perhaps as many as ten such teams were on hand at Saturday's rally, meaning overseas news agencies represented as much as 10 percent of those in attendence.

The foreign press has been streaming into Arizona in anticipation of Tuesday night, when, following national returns, Sen. McCain will either concede the presidential contest or declare victory - or perhaps neither if the vote is close - at the Biltmore resort in Phoenix.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Louisville) might be in a dogfight to retain his seat on Nov. 4, but don't expect McConnell's No. 2 in the United State Senate to appear with him at any campaign events between now and then.

Aides to McConnell, the Republican minority leader, and U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who serves as minority whip, say that Kyl has no plans to campaign with the Kentucky Republican, who is trying to fight off a stronger-than-expected challenge from Democratic businessman Bruce Lunsford.

A Kyl aide said Friday that the Arizona Senator had spoken personally with McConnell in the last few weeks to offer his assistance on the campaign trail but had been turned down, with McConnell volunteering that no such help was needed, and that Kyl's time was better spent working on behalf of his fellow Grand Canyon State Senator, John McCain, in the closing weeks of the campaign season.

WASHINGTON - House and Senate Republicans are rushing to the aid of U.S. Rep. John Shadegg (R-Phoenix), the seven-term congressman who finds himself in a surprisingly difficult fight for re-election.

U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), the chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, has asked members of the committee to open their wallets for Shadegg, a former chair and sitting member of the committee, according to a Capitol Hill aide familiar with the fundraising effort. With members out of town, Hensarling's member-to-member appeals have taken place over the phone.

Shadegg is competing against Democratic attorney Bob Lord in a race that was widely seen as Shadegg's to lose. But with the political atmosphere toxic for Republicans, Democrats have grown increasingly optimistic of their prospects of winning the Phoenix-area seat. As of Tuesday, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had spent more than $1 million on television advertisements and mailers hammering Shadegg.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) acknowledged today that Senate Republicans faced fundraising difficulties heading into the fall elections, but he suggested that Democrats would fall short of the 60-seat mark needed to override a filibuster. Kyl argued that Republicans had opportunities to win seats in several states including Colorado and Louisiana, and he predicted that the party would hold onto its seat in New Hampshire.

Hoping to break through the media's focus on the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Phoenix) will join other Republicans Thursday morning at a "Not Ready '08" press conference to "discuss why Barack Obama is not ready to lead."

With all the talk about our senior senator running for president, its easy to forget our junior senator is the current Republican whip in the Senate.  The Poltico has an interesting look at Jon Kyl and his leadership style.