The U.S. state of Arizona on Saturday (January 23) the Republican Party election campaign, again elected former President Trump (Trump) a key supporter of Kelli Ward (Kelli Ward) chairman re-election. This is also Trump after leaving office, for the first Time in the form of audio public support for the party’s political figures.
Ward emerged victorious in the chairman’s race and narrowly won in the runoff, according to an Arizona Republican Party spokesman. She defeated her opponent, businessman Sergio Arrellano (R).
Ward, a physician and former state legislator, lost both Congressional Senate primaries to her party rival, but, this time, defeated three rivals to retain the presidency.
She played an audio recording of former President Trump’s early endorsement on the floor. Trump said, “I give her (Ward) my full, full-throated endorsement, whether it’s the Second Amendment or many other things like supporting the troops and election integrity, she’s done a great job, bar none.”
It was Trump’s first public endorsement of a party politician since he left office as president on the 20th.
Trump’s audio won repeated applause from supporters in the arena.
Ward: I’m a Trump-style Republican
In a brief interview on Thursday (21), Ward said she is a “Trump-style Republican” who will “always put America first and believe in faith, Family and freedom”. She said the way forward for the Republican Party is to continue to engage Trump’s 74 million voters.
“I’m going to stay positive about those things because those are the elements that keep this country great,” Ward said. She called on Republicans not to lie there and complain, but to act.
However, Ward’s opponents say her approach will push key Republican voters toward the Democratic Party, especially suburban women with college degrees.
Ward and many other Republicans still question the outcome of the 2020 election in the state, where Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly took the state’s top vote.
Arizona is traditionally a Republican state, with President Biden becoming the second Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in more than 50 years; and the 2018 and 2020 elections also gave Democrats control of the state’s two seats in the U.S. Senate for the first time in nearly 70 years.
Arizona was a key swing state in the election and one of two states whose election results were challenged during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6. Trump’s campaign, civilian lawyers and Republicans such as Ward sued the governor and secretary of state over election fraud, but all eight lawsuits were dismissed by the courts.
Arizona Republican Party Condemns Governor’s Misconduct
The Wall Street Journal reported that the rift between the Arizona Republican establishment and the pro-Trump faction has widened further, not only because committee members elected Ward to a second term, but also condemned the actions of Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Cindy McCain (former senator and widow of 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain) and former U.S. Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.
Members of the Republican Party believe that Ducey has excessively restricted people’s lives and business operations in the name of the Epidemic; while Cindy, unhappy with Trump’s criticism of her husband, has turned into a staunch supporter of Biden, a Democrat; Flake, who also repeatedly criticized Trump during his tenure as a senator for not sticking to his values, also made a high-profile announcement of his support for Biden last year while threatening to leave the party.
“This election cycle has exposed too much cronyism in our party from top to bottom,” Ward said, criticizing establishment figures such as Ducey.
However, Ward also downplayed the significance of the party’s condemnation, saying it does not prevent anyone from running for office as a Republican.
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