Dr. Kelli Ward, left, a former Arizona Republican state senator, speaks with a supporter of President Donald J. Trump on August 2, 2016, while Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., right, attends a meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 9, 2016. (Photos: AP)
Dr. Kelli Ward responded to the decision by Jeff Flake not to seek reelection in 2018, an announcement he made on the floor of the U.S. Senate Tuesday. The announcement came only days after talk radio host Laura Ingraham and Breitbart News Executive Chairman and former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon campaign for Dr. Ward in Phoenix.
“Arizona voters are the big winner in @JeffFlake’s decision to not seek reelection,” she tweeted. “They deserve a strong, conservative in the Senate who supports @POTUS & the ‘America First’ agenda. Our campaign proudly offers an optimistic path forward for Arizona & America.”
Arizona voters are the big winner in @JeffFlake‘s decision to not seek reelection. They deserve a strong, conservative in the Senate 1/2
— Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) October 24, 2017
Who supports @POTUS & the ‘America First’ agenda. Our campaign proudly offers an optimistic path forward for Arizona & America #MAGA 2/2
— Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) October 24, 2017
The original NeverTrumper had little-to-no chance to beat back the primary challenge by Dr. Ward. Recent polling shows Dr. Ward crushing the incumbent by roughly 25 points, ironically carrying the Hispanic vote.
A recent JMC Analytics Poll of 500 registered Republican voters found only 22% said they wanted to nominate Sen. Flake, who 66% of Arizona Republicans view unfavorably. Only 22% viewed him favorably, compared to 43% who held a favorable view of Dr. Ward. With 23% saying they have no opinion and 11% saying they’ve never heard of the state senator, she had a lot of room to grow.
Conservative talk radio hosts Sean Hannity and Ingraham have both endorsed Dr. Ward. President Donald Trump tweeted support for her campaign in mid-August. The President said it was “great” to see Dr. Ward running against Sen. Flake.
Meanwhile, Sen. Flake will serve out the remainder of his term, leaving his actions from this point forward unaccountable to the voters he insinuated were bigoted and misguided.
