John McCain Loosing Campaign Staffers Faster Than He Flip Flops On Positions

And if you've seen his "Build the dang fence" commercial, that's pretty damn fast.

Sen. John McCain's re-election bid lost its campaign manager and another veteran Republican official, part of a shake-up for the Arizona lawmaker locked in a tight primary race with radio host and former Rep. J.D. Hayworth.

The pair of GOP hands—who started before Hayworth entered the race—will instead work on the Republican National Committee's effort in Arizona. Campaign spokesman Brian Rogers said neither Shiree Verdone nor Mike Hellon, a former Arizona GOP chairman, were fired.

"Senator McCain is very grateful for all that Shiree and Mike have done to launch the re-election campaign and establish it on a firm footing and looks forward to working closely with them for victory in November," Rogers said in a statement.

McCain, his party's 2008 presidential nominee, drew a Republican primary challenge that has forced him to the right. The one-time champion of a moderate, bipartisan approach to immigration now is running ads demanding Washington finish "the danged fence" he once mocked.