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Chairman of Arizona Republican Party splits with McCain on Donald Trump

Posted at 5:01 PM, Oct 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-10-10 20:01:58-04

The chairman of Arizona's Republican Party says he'll keep supporting Donald Trump despite the businessman's lewd comments about women.

Robert Graham's Monday announcement shows just how deeply the state GOP is divided over Trump. Two days earlier, Sen. John McCain withdrew his support for Trump and said he'll write in the name of a "good conservative Republican" instead.

Fellow Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake has been among the most vocal elected officials to criticize Trump since this summer. 

But Graham and others are sticking with the party's presidential nominee.

Graham said in a lengthy statement that there's no way to defend Trump's comments about women but "let him who is without sin cast the first stone." In a veiled criticism of McCain, he said it's hard to understand why some are willing to abandon Trump knowing that Clinton will "systematically condemn our freedoms."