Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-Ariz.) are virtually tied in a Republican primary match-up for next year's Senate race, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll of likely GOP voters conducted Nov. 18.
McCain leads Hayworth 45 percent to 43 percent, with anti-illegal immigration activist Chris Simcox taking 4 percent. The margin of error was 4 percent.
McCain was expected to coast to a 5th term next year, and he still could, if Hayworth doesn't run. He doesn't have a serious general election challenger and Simcox, the other declared Republican, has not shown the capacity to gain much traction among voters.
Hayworth, the conservative former congressman and current talk radio host, hasn't made any overt moves towards a run, but he also hasn't ruled it out. He narrowly lost his 5th District House seat in 2006.
McCain has his share of critics, particularly among the conservative base of his party, which makes him vulnerable to a challenge from the right. Yet he still has a positive favorable-to-unfavorable rating among Republican primary voters.
Seventy-four percent rate McCain favorably -- 35 percent very favorably -- while 24 percent rate him unfavorably and 2 percent were unsure. Hayworth's favorability is at 67 percent with 16 percent rating him unfavorably. Sixteen percent were undecided.
Nearly half -- 46 percent -- have no opinion of Simcox. Twenty-seven percent view him favorably and 26 percent unfavorably.
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