Gov. Doug Ducey Will Wait To Fill John McCain's Senate Seat

PHOENIX, AZ — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey said he will wait to appoint someone to fill U.S. Sen. John McCain’s seat until after he is buried. McCain died Saturday at the age of 81 after he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ducey’s office said it will wait to fill his seat out of respect for the veteran lawmaker and war hero.

“Out of respect for the life and legacy of Senator John McCain and his family, Governor Ducey will not be making any announcements about an appointment until after the Senator is laid to rest,” Ducey’s senior adviser Daniel Ruiz II told the Arizona Republic in a statement.

“Now is a time for remembering and honoring a consequential life well lived,” the statement said.

McCain will be buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Maryland, an aide told the newspaper. The day and time of the burial remains unknown, but the newspaper said services are expected in both Phoenix and Washington, D.C. The person appointed to fill McCain’s seat would remain in the position until the 2020 general election.

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McCain was diagnosed last year with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that kept him away from the Senate for about nine months. He died a day after his family announced he would end his treatment. He would have turned 82 on Aug. 29.

Among the names that have been floated as potential candidates: McCain’s widow, Cindy, Ducey’s own chief of staff Kirk Adams, Barbara Barrett, the first woman to seek the GOP nomination for Arizona governor, and former U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, who decided not to seek re-election in 2012 after 26 years in Congress.

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