Kelli Ward
(''née'' Kaznoski; born January 25, 1969) is an American
osteopathic physician
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licen ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who has served as the chair of the
Arizona Republican Party
The Arizona Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. The party currently controls four of Arizona's nine U.S. House seats, both houses of the state legislature, and the governorship ...
since 2019. She served in the
Arizona State Senate
The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms wi ...
from 2013 to 2015.
She challenged incumbent Senator
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
in the Republican
primary
Primary or primaries may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Primary (band), from Australia
* Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea
* Primary Music, Israeli record label
Works
* ...
for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
. Resigning from the state senate to focus on the race, Ward was defeated 51% to 39%. She ran in the
2018 Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate, initially against
Jeff Flake
Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current U.S Ambassador to Turkey. A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and ...
,
and then against
Martha McSally
Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
, after Flake's decision not to seek re-election. Ward was defeated by McSally in the Republican primary.
She became chair of the Arizona Republican Party in 2019. After the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, in which incumbent President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
lost in 25 states, including Arizona, she filed lawsuits seeking to nullify the state's election results. She provided no evidence of wrongdoing in the election and by December 9, federal and state judges had dismissed all challenges against President-elect
Joe Biden's
victory in Arizona.
Early life and education
Kelli Ward was born Kelli Kaznoski in
Fairmont, West Virginia
Fairmont is a city in and county seat of Marion County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 18,313 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Fairmont Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Marion County, a ...
.
She graduated from
Bridgeport High School in 1987, as the class
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
.
Ward obtained a
BS in
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...
from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in
Durham, North Carolina
Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...
in 1991; a
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine (MD) degrees are equivalent: a DO graduate may become licens ...
(D.O.) degree from
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) is a public medical school located in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Founded in 1974, WVSOM is one of three medical schools in West Virginia and the sole institution that grants the Doctor of Os ...
in
Lewisburg, West Virginia
Lewisburg is a city in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,930 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Greenbrier County.
Geography
Lewisburg is located approximately one mile north of the Greenbrier River. ...
in 1996; and a
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. in
public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...
(M.P.H.) from
A.T. Still University of Health Sciences in
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University.
...
in 2005.
Arizona Legislature
After Republican state senator
Ron Gould left the Legislature and left the District 5 seat open, Ward won the three-way August 28, 2012, Republican primary in a highly contested election with 9,925 votes (42.2%) in a field which included State Representative
Nancy McLain
Nancy McLain (born January 17, 1945) was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing Arizona Legislative District 3. She served from January 2005 until January 2013.
References ...
. Ward won the November 6, 2012 general election with 49,613 votes (71.2%) against
Democratic nominee Beth Weiser, who had run for a Senate seat in 2010.
Ward has changed her position on
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
over time. In 2012, Ward said that she wanted the government to play no role in the decision to have an abortion, saying, "My preference would be that a patient and a doctor talk to each other about the risks, the benefits, what is the potential outcome for the mother should she choose to have a procedure like that, instead of having the government trying to make those decisions." By 2016, she described herself as "
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
". Her spokesman Stephen Sebastian said that she maintained a "pro-life record" in the state senate and supported a "
human life amendment
The Human Life Amendment is the name of multiple proposals to amend the United States Constitution that would have the effect of overturning the Supreme Court 1973 decision ''Roe v. Wade'', which ruled that prohibitions against abortion were uncon ...
" to the U.S. Constitution.
In January 2014, Ward introduced the
Arizona Fourth Amendment Protection Act
The Arizona Fourth Amendment Protection Act is a bill proposed in the Arizona legislature that would withdraw state support for collection of metadata and ban the use of warrantless data in courts.
The bill was introduced into the Arizona Senat ...
, which would "ban the state from engaging in activities which help the
NSA
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
carry out their warrantless data-collection programs, or even make use of the information on a local level."
When Ward ran for re-election in November 2014, she was unopposed in both the primary and the general election.
U.S. Senate primary elections
2016
On July 14, 2015, Ward announced she would be entering the race for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Arizona, against long-time incumbent
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, who was viewed by many political analysts as a top target of the
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...
and by other Republican conservatives. On December 2, 2015, Ward announced that per Arizona's
resign-to-run laws
A resign-to-run law is a law that requires the current holder of an office to resign from that office before they can run for another office. This is distinct from a dual mandate prohibition, where a person has to resign from their old office to ...
, she would resign from the state senate, effective December 15, in order to dedicate her time to running for the U.S. Senate. She was succeeded by
Sue Donahue
Sue Donahue is an American politician. Donahue was appointed in 2016 to serve in the Arizona State Senate representing the fifth legislative district as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Donahue replaced Kelli Wa ...
.
On July 11, 2016, Ward published an ad on her
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
page saying that
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
, her primary opponent for the 2016 Republican primary Senate election, was too friendly with Secretary
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
. The ad said that they were nearly identical in their political beliefs, stating that "they agree" on issues such as "amnesty for illegal immigrants," opposing President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
's tax cuts, a gasoline tax, and "blocking conservative judges". The ad was an identical copy of a 2008 ad published by then-presidential candidate
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
, except that Ward replaced Romney's approval message at the end of the video with her own. Romney's lawyers contacted Ward and her campaign ordering her to cease any further use of the ad, stating Romney for President did not authorize any use of the ad. Ward's campaign did not dispute the similarities, telling reporters that "Mitt Romney got it right." Stephen Sebastian, Ward's spokesman, added "If the shoe fits, wear it. The substance is still the same. Some things never change."
In August 2016, Ward lost the primary to McCain.
2018
In October 2016, Ward announced that she would run in the 2018 Republican primary against incumbent Senator
Jeff Flake
Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who is the current U.S Ambassador to Turkey. A member of the Republican Party, Flake served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013 and ...
(who later announced he would retire from the Senate).
Ward criticized Flake for being "an open-borders, amnesty
globalist," describing herself as "a
build-the-wall, stop-illegal-immigration Americanist".
In the primary, Ward faced U.S. Rep.
Martha McSally
Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
and former
Maricopa County
Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...
sheriff
Joe Arpaio
Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...
.
Arpaio and Ward were considered in contention for the same group of primary voters, as they are both highly conservative and staunchly pro-Trump, whereas McSally has a more moderate record.
In July 2017, after McCain was diagnosed with
brain cancer
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...
, Ward said that she hoped that McCain would resign as quickly as possible.
Ward said in a radio interview, "I hope that Senator McCain is going to look long and hard at this, that his family and his advisers are going to look at this, and they're going to advise him to step away as quickly as possible. So that the business of the country and the business of Arizona being represented at the federal level can move forward. ... We can't have until the 2018 election, waiting around to accomplish the Trump agenda, to secure the border and stop illegal immigration and repeal
Obamacare
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
and fix the economy and fix the veterans administration, all those things need to be done and we can't be at a standstill while we wait for John McCain to determine what he's going to do."
Ward said that she hoped that Arizona's governor would consider appointing her to fill McCain's seat.
In August 2017, several events affected her campaign. She expressed her support for
Trump's pardon of former Sheriff
Joe Arpaio
Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...
, who had been convicted of criminal
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
.
Billionaire
Robert Mercer
Robert Leroy Mercer (born July 11, 1946) is an American hedge fund manager, computer scientist, and political donor. Mercer was an early artificial intelligence researcher and developer and is the former co-CEO of the hedge fund company Renaissan ...
—who had supported Ward's 2016 campaign—announced that he would donate $300,000 to a
Super PAC supporting her 2018 run.
Also in that month, a video
attack ad
Attack may refer to:
Warfare and combat
* Offensive (military)
* Charge (warfare)
* Attack (fencing)
* Strike (attack)
* Attack (computing)
* Attack aircraft
Books and publishing
* ''The Attack'' (novel), a book
* ''Attack No. 1'', comic and ...
appeared accusing Ward of agreeing with the
chemtrails conspiracy theory
The chemtrail conspiracy theory is the erroneous belief that long-lasting condensation trails are "chemtrails" consisting of chemical or biological agents left in the sky by high-flying aircraft, sprayed for nefarious purposes undisclosed to ...
and referring to her as "Chemtrail Kelli". The advertisement was sponsored by the
Senate Leadership Fund, aligned with Senate
Majority Leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body. Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
,
and may have been the first time Ward came to the attention of "many outside Arizona" according to journalist Clare Malone,
(an ad on the subject of chemtrails and Ward first appeared in the 2016 Senate race with McCain).
Politifact
PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Times'' ...
rated the claim that Ward "hosted a town hall on 'chemtrail conspiracy theories' and is open to sponsoring chemtrails legislation" as "mostly false,"
and
factcheck.org
FactCheck.org is a nonprofit website that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in Politics of the United States, U.S. politics by providing original research on misinformation and hoaxes. It is a project of the Annenberg Public Po ...
labeled the ad "misleading."
Ward criticized the ad as demonstrating "sexism reserved for conservative women."
In October 2017, Ward was formally endorsed by former Senior Counselor to the President
Steve Bannon
Stephen Kevin Bannon (born November 27, 1953) is an American media executive, political strategist, and former investment banker. He served as the White House's chief strategist in the administration of U.S. president Donald Trump during t ...
in her 2018 campaign. Ward appeared together with Bannon to announce the endorsement.
She was also endorsed by
Great America PAC, which has been described as "an arm of Team Bannon". Bannon has said he believes Ward will help build a wall on the southern border of the US and repeal the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
.
Ward later attempted to distance herself from Bannon in the aftermath of Bannon's public falling-out with Trump, whose endorsement Ward also sought, according to ''
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
''.
In January 2018, Ward said: "Steve Bannon, I don't know that I actually really got a full endorsement from Steve ... He's not somebody that I've reached out and talked to in any way, shape, or form ... I am distancing myself from Steve Bannon." Ward was also endorsed by
Sean Hannity
Sean Patrick Hannity (born December 30, 1961) is an American talk show host, conservative political commentator, and author. He is the host of ''The Sean Hannity Show'', a nationally syndicated talk radio show, and has also hosted a commentar ...
,
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of ''The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette. ...
,
Rep.
Steve King, and Sen.
Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American physician and politician serving as the junior U.S. senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he is a son of former three-time presidential candidate and 12 ...
.
In May 2018, Arpaio accused Ward of having enticed him to bow out of the Republican primary in exchange for lucrative speaking gigs with a pro-Trump group; the Ward campaign denied the accusation.
The primary was described as "contentious", with Ward refusing to say whether she would support McSally in the general election were she to win the Republican nomination.
In June 2018, ''
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' reported that Ward's ties to controversial and fringe conservative figures were undermining her campaign.
During the campaign, Ward disavowed
Paul Nehlen
Paul Nehlen (born May 9, 1969) is an American businessman, white supremacist, retired politician, and former Congressional candidate from Wisconsin. He gained notoriety for his controversial remarks while running in 2016 and 2018 in the Republica ...
, an
anti-Semitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
and anti-
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
commentator whom she had previously praised and described as a "friend".
Ward praised Nehlen when he unsuccessfully sought to unseat House Speaker
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member o ...
in 2016. She appeared together with Nehlen on a number of occasions.
Ward's husband, who was also a campaign surrogate, has promoted conspiracy theories about
Seth Rich
Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. A ...
,
Bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
and
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
murdering people, and John McCain cooperating with the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
. In August 2018, Ward announced a campaign bus tour featuring
Mike Cernovich
Michael Cernovich (born November 17, 1977) is an American right-wing social media personality, political commentator, and conspiracy theorist. Though he initially called himself alt-right, he dissociated from the movement after Richard Spence ...
, an
alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
media personality and conspiracy theorist. Cernovich had promoted the
Pizzagate
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracy theory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle. It has been extensively discredited by a wide range of organizations, including the Washington, D.C. police.
In March 2016, the p ...
conspiracy theory, falsely alleging the existence of a widespread
pedophile
Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...
network within the Clinton campaign, whose existence Ward refused to deny. When Ward was asked if she agreed with Cernovich's beliefs, she said that she didn't know much about his views.
On August 24, 2018, the day of the announcement that McCain was ceasing medical treatment for terminal
brain cancer
A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...
, one of Ward's campaign staffers questioned on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
if the announcement "was a plan to take media attention off
ard'scampaign" on "the kickoff day of Kelli Ward's bus tour". In response, Ward wrote: "I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that they hope is negative to me." McCain died hours after Ward's initial comment, which was deleted or removed from public viewing. Ward then made a followup comment (later also deleted or hidden) that the "media loves a narrative ... it's the media making something out of nothing."
Ward was defeated by
Martha McSally
Martha Elizabeth McSally (born March 22, 1966) is an American politician and former military pilot who served as a United States senator for Arizona from 2019 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the U.S. representative for ...
in the August 28, 2018, Republican primary, receiving 28% of the vote to McSally's 52% and Arpaio's 19%.
Chair of Arizona Republican Party
In 2019, Ward was elected chair of Arizona Republican Party on a campaign platform of the Republican Party of Arizona supporting Republican presidential incumbent
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in 2020. She was reelected to the position in January 2021 by a margin of 42 votes in the second round of voting. Two months after the election, a couple of party activists sued Ward over her refusal to conduct an audit of the results of her reelection. The basis for the lawsuit is that the election was not conducted in view of the media, unlike standard election practice.
In April 2020, amid the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Ward encouraged protests against stay-at-home orders. She told protestors to dress up in scrubs and medical gear to imitate health care workers.
Early on election night 2020, the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
and
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
declared Biden the winner in Arizona as ballot counting continued. Trump and Ward sought to intervene, with Ward sending a text message to a Republican election official to say she had spoken with Trump and "We need you to stop the counting." She also asked the official to contact Trump attorney
Sidney Powell
Sidney Katherine Powell (born 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which led the State Bar of Texas to seek sanctions again ...
, adding, "I know you don't want to be remembered as the guy who led the charge to certify a fraudulent election." Biden's lead shrank later in the night, though he still carried the state.
After Biden's victory, Trump spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories about election fraud, and Ward aided him in trying to subvert the election results. Throughout the period between the election and the
inauguration of Joe Biden
The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States took place on Wednesday, January 20, 2021, marking the start of the four-year term of Joe Biden as president and Kamala Harris as vice president. The 59th presidential ...
, Ward sent out fundraising mailings referencing a "stolen" election. Ward provided no evidence of wrongdoing in the election. The Arizona Republican Party dared Republicans to fight to the death for Trump.
When Ward's legal challenges were dismissed, Arizona Republicans raised concerns that the political division between Ward and
Doug Ducey
Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
, who had acknowledged Biden's win in Arizona, would damage the party's future electoral prospects.
As Trump and his allies
attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election, on January 5, 2021, dozens of lawmakers from key states, including Arizona, asked Vice President
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
to delay final certification of Biden's election for 10 days so that legislatures in those states could reconsider their earlier certifications. During the
storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, which forced lawmakers to evacuate, Ward wrote on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, "Congress is adjourned. Send the elector choice back to the legislatures."
She also suggested without evidence that the Capitol rioters were fakes who were trying to undermine Trump supporters.
In 2021, Ward pushed false claims about the Arizona election in 2020. She and her husband were among eleven Republicans to sign a fraudulent
certificate of ascertainment
In the United States, a certificate of ascertainment is an official document that identifies a U.S. state, state's appointed United States Electoral College, electors for U.S. President and Vice President, and the final vote count for each candid ...
declaring Trump had won Arizona's electors, when actually Joe Biden had; Republicans in other key states also signed such documents. The Arizona signing ceremony was videotaped. Ward and her husband were among many Republicans in those states to receive federal subpoenas in June 2022. Ward fought a
January 6 committee
The United States House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (the January 6th Committee) is a bipartisan select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives established to investigate the U.S. ...
subpoena of her phone records to the
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
, which denied her challenge in November 2022. She then appeared before the committee but pleaded the
Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
Poor results in the 2022 midterm elections, in which Republican candidates
Blake Masters,
Kari Lake
Kari Ann Lake ( ; born August 23, 1969) is an American former television news anchor who was the Republican nominee in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election.
Beginning her media career in the early 1990s, Lake was the anchor for the Phoeni ...
, and
Mark Finchem
Mark William Finchem (born April 24, 1957) is an American far-right politician who served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives representing District 11 from 2015 to 2023. He is the Arizona coordinator for the Coalition of Weste ...
were defeated, led Republican gubernatorial candidate
Karrin Taylor Robson to call for Ward's replacement. Robson called Ward's tenure an "unmitigated disaster" for the Arizona Republican Party.
Personal life
While studying
osteopathic medicine
Osteopathy () is a type of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. Practitioners of osteopathy are referred to as osteopaths.
Osteopathic manipulation is the core set of techniques in ...
, Ward met her husband Michael, who served in the
Arizona Air National Guard
The Arizona Air National Guard (AZ ANG) is the aerial militia of the state of Arizona, United States of America. It is, along with the Arizona Army National Guard, an element of the Arizona National Guard.
As state militia units, the units in the ...
.
[Arizona State Legislature](_blank)
Senate. Kelly Ward. They have two children.
Electoral history
References
External links
Official pageat the
Arizona State Legislature
Campaign site
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Kelli
1969 births
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American politicians
American politicians of Polish descent
American osteopathic physicians
Republican Party Arizona state senators
Candidates in the 2018 United States Senate elections
Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Living people
People from Fairmont, West Virginia
Tea Party movement activists
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine alumni
Women state legislators in Arizona
Arizona Republican Party chairs
American conspiracy theorists
Candidates in the 2016 United States Senate elections