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Democratic Arizona Senate candidate John McLean was killed in an early morning vehicle collision on Friday.
Tucson police put out a news release with details of the tragedy after notifying McLean’s family.
McLean was a well-known 68-year-old Tucson businessman. He had been driving his Toyota Rav4 east on Broadway Boulevard in Tucson on Friday morning shortly before 6 a.m. when 27-year-old Michael Martin Creel ran a stop sign on Ridgeside Drive, crashing his Ford Explorer into the side of McLean’s vehicle, police said.
Police declared McLean dead at the scene when they arrived.
Creel had been driving while impaired and was speeding before the collision, police said in the news release. He was booked into the Pima County Jail on suspicion of manslaughter and aggravated DUI.
McLean’s candidacy was seen by Democrats as key to their plan of achieving a tie or win in the state Senate this year. But while initial ballot counting after Election Day showed him in the lead, Republican competitor Vince Leach subsequently took the lead. The race hadn’t yet been called when news of McLean’s collision broke.
Senate Republicans released a comment by Leach: “My thoughts and prayers are with the McLean family for their tragic loss today. John was a good man who conducted himself honorably as a candidate. My deepest condolences go out to John’s family and friends in this most difficult time. As a third-generation Arizonan, the lives John positively touched during his life are incalculable, and we should all be so fortunate to do the same.”
McLean was a first-time candidate. He was the former CEO of Arete Associates, which makes sensors and other equipment for the military.
Arizona Democratic Party officials didn’t immediately return a message.
The Young Democrats of Arizona tweeted: “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of John McLean. John was a dedicated public servant who cared deeply about his community, and we were proud to stand with him in his campaign. We extend our deepest condolences to the McLean family and with all who are grieving.”
Reach the reporter at rstern@arizonarepublic.com or 480-276-3237. Follow him on X @raystern.
