Despite significant gains in almost every poll taken over the last month, Senator John McCain's campaign continues to hammer away at The Maverick's opponent in the GOP Senate primary, J.D. Hayworth.
This primary has been one of the uglier political contests in the 2010 campaign season and, in its final stages, is getting even uglier.
Since the beginning of the primary, the McCain campaign has casually mentioned disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his ties to Hayworth.
Today, the McCain campaign flat out called Hayworth corrupt.
"Congressman Hayworth is a corrupt politician who did favors for convicted felon Jack Abramoff," McCain campaign spokesman Brian Rogers says. "After Hayworth was voted out of office, he became a Washington lobbyist and starred in an infomercial for a shady company that cheated people out of their money."
Hayworth was never convicted of any wrongdoing because of his ties to Abramoff, but -- to put it mildly -- it tarnished his reputation, something McCain highlights in a new ad you can see below.
Way to kick a dog when he's down.
Hayworth's campaign took a turn for the worse last month when news of his infomercial stardom apparently turned off voters.
Conservatives tend to frown upon the hawking of "free government money," particularly when it's coming from a guy running for Senate as "the consistent conservative."
Hayworth, who was once thought of as a formidable opponent for Arizona's senior senator, has since become more of a punchline than a threat to McCain.
Time to stick a fork in candidate Hayworth -- the guy's done.
