Latest AZ poll: McCain's favorability at 16 year low

Arizonans are not very happy with John McCain.

According to a statewide poll conducted this month by Behavior Research Center in Phoenix, only 41% of those polled said McCain was doing a good/excellent job, the lowest marks McCain has received since January of 1994 when the Senator was suffering the fallout from his involvement in the Keating Five scandal. The biggest surprise could be his numbers among Independent voters where his favorability was even lower, at 38%.

McCain will be facing at least one opponent from his own party; former Arizona Congressman JD Hayworth. Although not yet officially declared, Hayworth's resignation from his conservative talk radio show was a clear signal that he will soon enter the race, and he re-affirmed that decision in robocalls this week.

While McCain's conservative standing has sometimes been in question, no such doubt exists about Hayworth, who's been a vocal Tea Party supporter and a featured speaker at Arizona Tea Party events. When discussing a possible Hayworth Senate run, one conservative blog praised the former Congressman for his staunch right-wing ideology, saying that during his time in Congress Hayworth had "a history of rushing in where RINOS (Republicans In Name Only) fear to tread."

In an attempt to bolster support among conservatives and Republicans, McCain announced that Sarah Palin will be campaigning with him in Arizona this spring. But when Palin used her Facebook site to announce her intention to support McCain, her supporters flooded the page with anti-McCain comments and begged her to reconsider.

John McCain might take some comfort from one finding in this latest poll: the other Arizona Republican Senator scored even worse. Senator Jon Kyl's favorability stood at 35% statewide, 34% among Independents.