The McCain/Flake crowd either didn’t vote for a senatorial candidate or voted for someone other than McSally. McCain had been winning here for many years so he had a loyal base. His death I think just solidified the anti Trump vote among that base.
The McCain family, the Flake enterprises, and their minions fought McSally.
The Catholic Church is heavily invested in anti-abortion - but ONLY when it does not conflict with “importing seats” in the pews by funding illegal immigration, fighting immigration reform, fighting to support illegal aliens already here. “People in the pews” (and “new priests in the pulpit”) are now overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking in TX, NM, AZ, and southern California. Illegal aliens don’t donate money, but they sit in the pews, and are a visible presense in the “we need your donations” that promote the church’s activity and schools.
It is not clear how the Mormon Church (heavily invested emotionally in Mitt Romney’s resurrection campaign to the national stage in Nevada, in Harry Reid’s still-breathing influence across the border, in their nationally-known politcians’s hatred of Trump) was effective in fighting McSally. Certainly, even their conservative cultural influence was “negative” by not being visibly supportive!
Publicaly, ALLof these groups fought McSally by not even “appearing” to support her against the democrat. Privately, they fought her by any means possible. By every means possible. In every venue possible.
They HATE Trump and Trump’s policies.
In their minds,
If a democrat wins McCain’s seat, it means Trump was wrong.
If a democrat wins Flake’s seat, it means Trump was wrong.
If Pelosi wins Congressional control, it means Trump was wrong.
If a republican wins either seat, it means McCain (and Flake!) were right.