In an interview with PolitickerAZ.com, Sean McCaffrey, executive director of the Arizona Republican Party, described the party's vision of itself under the leadership of Chairman Randy Pullen, and slammed what he sees as irresponsible journalism surrounding the presidential campaign.

McCaffrey maintained that there is no schism between the Arizona Republican Party and its counterparts on the national and county levels, and explained that any appearance to the contrary was an outgrowth of the party's new role.

"The party exists specifically to assist local candidates," said McCaffrey. "The top of ticket for us will be the governor's race and then legislative races."

McCaffrey said the upcoming senate race is also a concern. U.S. Sen. John McCain's term ends in 2010, and if he doesn't win the presidency, it is not certain whether he'll elect to run again. If he does take over the White House in January, it will trigger a special election for his seat.

"Races in 2010 will take up the vast majority of this committee's time," said McCaffrey, adding, "assuming chairman Pullen remains in his position."

Pullen's position is far from assured. He won his post in January of 2007 by a razor-thin margin, 408 to 404. He has had a rocky relationship with John McCain and a number of the more moderate factions within the party.

One of the most pronounced signs of the intra-party tensions that have plauged the Republican apparatus in the state is the fundraising issue. It is an open secret that the Republican National Committee had issued a directive that the bulk of funds be funneled through the Pima County Republican Party.

Most recently, a fundraiser for 8th Congressional District Republican candidate Tim Bee with Pres. Bush was designed to raise money for the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee and the Pima County Republican Party - but not the Arizona Republican Party.

McCaffrey, however, said the divide was spanned a while ago, and that there is not infighting anymore. He said his committee was left out because it is not focused on U.S. House races.

"Do we try to help the McCain campaign and congressional races? Yes," he said, but restated that it is not the primary focus of the party.

For McCaffrey, there is good reason to believe that the Arizona GOP's help won't be needed in the 8th district race, which has been selected by the National Republican Congressional Committee and its Democratic counterpart as one of the top-tier races in the country.

Referring to the Bush-Bee fundraiser, McCaffrey said, "Because most donations at the event were at $1,000 level, the vast majority of the money raised actually went to the [Bee] campaign." Donations under went exclusively to Bee.

McCaffrey also said he is confident, though not sure, that donations directed to the NRCC will directly benefit the 8th district race.

"While much has been made of national party resources and what will and will not be available for our candidates," he said, in reference to the large advantage the DCCC has over the NRCC in its cash on hand total, "NRCC joint fundraising will specifically go to help candidates like [Arizona Senate] President Bee. While we can't guarantee it will come back to this district, I think there is a good chance that because President Bee is viewed as one of the top three challenger candidates on our side of the aisle, the odds are good it will come back to this district."

When it came to fundraising numbers for John McCain, McCaffrey had a different tone.

It was widely reported that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) outraised McCain in Arizona during the second quarter. McCaffrey called a focus on that total "bad journalism."

Citing a "media love affair with Obama," McCaffrey said news outlets, particularly the Arizona Republic, which first reported the story, were deliberately skewing the facts to benefit Obama.

According to the Republic:

"Obama reported $432,000 in donations from Arizonans in June, compared with McCain's $313,000, based on an Arizona Republic analysis of Federal Election Commission records. Neither campaign properly codes all contributions with a state, making it impossible to know exactly where all donations came from."

"The RNC and John McCain raised $3 million in Arizona" last quarter, said McCaffrey. "Everyone knows that."

Emily DeRose, spokeswoman for the Arizona Democratic Party, said of the report:

"McCain should be running circles around Obama here," she told PolitickerAZ.com via email. "Instead the GOP has to parse these numbers to find any kind of silver lining in a very dark cloud. That's just pitiful."

However, McCaffrey ridiculed the notion that Arizona is a trouble spot for McCain.

"He's going to continue to do very well here," said McCaffrey.