As Elizabeth Crum notes in Battle ‘10, John McCain is coming in for a rally for Sharron Angle on Friday. This is a key moment for the campaign. Angle obviously doesn’t have a problem with the conservative base in Nevada–it nominated her against all the odds and will crawl across broken glass to vote for her on Tuesday. The threat to Angle now comes from moderate Republicans staying home, voting for Reid, or voting for “none of the above.” Reid is working this constituency for all its worth, with “Republicans for Reid” and with advertising directed at it.
To win, Angle needs to blunt this challenge and the Arizona senator is exactly the right guy to try to help her do that. Needless to say, McCain has been giving conservatives heartburn for years, but he’s attempting to help bring Sharron Angle to the senate, where she will firmly anchor the right flank in the GOP caucus. Good for him for doing this, and good for Angle for having the tactical shrewdness to make this move.