2018 –Senate campaign advertising card in support of the first woman to fly a combat mission for the United States features a pop-up A-10 “Warthog”

Item Details

Arizona, 2018, Unbound

Very Good

This four-page, pop-up campaign advertisement measures approximately 8” x 6¾” when opened. It features a pop-up A-10 Thunderbolt II, popularly known as the Warthog. It was distributed by retired  USAF Colonel Martha McSally while campaigning for an Arizona Senate seat in 2018. The card is in nice shape with no stains, tears, or misfolds.

The front cover features a laser-cut image of an A-10 aircraft along with text that reads, “Martha / McSally / USAF COL (RET.) / Operation Enduring Freedom (2005-2006) / Commander, 354^th Fighter Squadron / U.S. Senator / Republican – Arizona.” The rear cover is blank.

The first inside panel features a photographic image of a Warthog in flight over the desert with text that reads, “I flew the A-10 Warthog for 325 combat hours. Fear is not in my lexicon. / God Bless America!”

The second inside panel features a star-spangled map of the United States along with text that reads, “Arizona’s nationally-watched race will determine the U. S. Senate’s balance of power!”

Between those panels is a pop-up of an A-10 Warthog.

Colonel McSally graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1988 and became the first woman to pilot an American combat aircraft and command a fighter squadron in 1995, when she flew combat patrols during Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the no-fly zone over southern Iraq. She returned to Southwest Asia in 2005 in command of a different squadron that flew missions over Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. While serving in the Middle East, she sued the Department of Defense, demanding that it stop forcing females to wear body-covering abayas when not on a military base so that Muslims were not offended. The Department blinked and rescinded the requirement.

Upon retiring from the military, McSally entered politics as a Republican and served several terms as a Representative and Senator representing Arizona.  Although she found President Trump to be repugnant, she was in full agreement with almost all of his political positions. During her 2018 Senate campaign, when she distributed this campaign advertisement, she received considerable press coverage after she challenged recalcitrant Republicans in Washington “to grow a pair of ovaries.” Although she went to bed on election night with a lead in the ballot count, her margin had disappeared by morning. McSally did not challenge the count, and Kyrstan Sinema was declared the victor with a razor-thin margin. Subsequently, Governor Doug Ducey appointed McSally to fill the Senate seat vacated by the death of John McCain.

This campaign pop-up is quite scarce, although several have been sold on eBay. At the time of listing, one stained and soiled example is for sale in the trade.

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