Kyl, who served three terms in the Senate, spoke at a service honoring McCain in the Arizona State Capitol last week, but he has also been shepherding Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s Supreme Court appointee, through the Senate.

In tapping Kyl, Ducey has effectively put the stature of McCain’s seat ahead of the political imperative of keeping it in Republican hands: For now, the former senator has only committed to serving until the start of the next Congress, in January, according to Arizona Republican officials familiar with the planning.

Kyl has indicated he would consider staying in the seat longer, until 2020, when a special election will be held to fill McCain’s unexpired term, the officials said. But he has made clear he will not seek to run again. That would leave the seat open and trigger a fiercely competitive primary.

However, the Senate election this year for the other Arizona seat, the one being vacated by Jeff Flake, could also shape calculations. Should Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican, lose to Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, Kyl could step aside to make way for McSally’s appointment.

Arizona Republicans close to Ducey said that, even as he considered a range of possibilities, he kept returning to Kyl, who was the second-ranking Senate Republican when he left office in 2013. The governor telephoned Kyl after McCain’s death a week ago Saturday and asked him if he would accept the appointment.

With Republicans holding only a 50-49 majority in the Senate, and a vote on Kavanaugh looming, the governor thought it was vital to appoint somebody who could immediately step in and represent the state’s interests, the officials said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Jonathan Martin © 2018 The New York Times