Arizona Republican voters don’t see Senator John McCain having much trouble winning the GOP Senate Primary next year, but 50% believe he has lost touch with his party’s base. Conservatives are even more critical of the longtime incumbent.

Forty-three percent (43%) of Arizona Republican voters offer a more positive assessment and say McCain has done a good job representing GOP values, according to a new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state.

Nationally, 69% of GOP voters believe that Republicans in Congress are out of touch with the party’s base. A recent analysis by Scott Rasmussen suggested that the Beltway GOP is on a continuing “path to irrelevance.

But, despite the concerns, 75% of GOP voters say McCain is at least somewhat likely to win the Republican Senate Primary. That figure includes 46% who say it is Very Likely.

Among all voters in Arizona, 45% say McCain has lost touch with GOP voters in the state, while 38% say he’s done a good job representing the party’s values.

Overall, 64% of the state’s voters say McCain is at least somewhat likely to win the GOP primary. Thirty-six percent (36%) think he is Very Likely to win.

Just 4% of Arizona voters have a Very Favorable opinion of McCain’s only announced Republican opponent, former Minuteman head Chris Simcox. Another 4% have a Very Unfavorable view. Thirty-five percent (35%) hold less firm opinions and 57% don’t know enough about him to venture an opinion. This high level of undecideds is often the case for political newcomers this early in the electoral process.

As for McCain himself, he is viewed favorably by 65% and unfavorably by 35%. This is an improvement for McCain, who just before the presidential election last November was seen favorably by 59% of Arizona voters and unfavorably by 40%. However, just 22% have a Very Favorable opinion of the long-time incumbent and 15% hold a Very Unfavorable view.

McCain, who was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for president last year, was first elected to the Senate in 1986. Fifty percent (50%) of voters nationally think high reelection rates result from election rules that are “rigged to benefit members of Congress.”

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls.) Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter.

Nationwide, just five percent (5%) of Republicans regard McCain as the party’s leader.

The state’s new Republican governor, Jan Brewer, has favorables of 55% and unfavorables of 38%. The former Secretary of State, she assumed the top job in January when then-Governor Janet Napolitano became President Obama’s secretary of Homeland Security.

Fifty-one percent (51%) approve of Brewer’s job performance, while 45% disapprove.

Voters in the state were closely divided in January over whether Brewer would do a better job as governor than Napolitano.

Arizona voters are evenly divided over how Obama is performing in the White House: 49% approve, 50% disapprove. This is noticeably below the national rating reported in the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free)… let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs available for Premium Members only.