Arizona State Senator Kelli Ward, challenging U.S. Senator John McCain, leads the five-term Washington insider for the first time in a poll.

Her lead stands at nine percent.

Ward was the choice of 45 percent of the registered Arizona voters polled, while McCain only garnered 36 percent. 1,271 of the more than 1,400 voters polled say they intend to vote in the 2016 primary election. Approximately one fifth remained undecided at this early stage of the race.

Independent polling company Gravis Marketing conducted the August 15 poll. It surveyed 844 Republican primary voters and 427 Democratic.

These new McCain versus Ward results vary significantly from May.

Public Policy Polling results then included 600 Arizona voters, 300 marked as Republican primary voters. In that early poll a Ward-McCain matchup gave Ward 31 percent and McCain 44 percent with 25 percent undecided.

Both Ward and McCain would beat Democratic candidate Ann Kirkpatrick in a general election, the poll suggests. Ward beats Kirkpatrick in the poll 43 to 38 percent while McCain beats Kirkpatrick 48 to 35 percent.

The May PPP results showed McCain’s approval rating down to 41 percent just among 300 Republican primary voters polled.

Ward spoke exclusively to Breitbart News about the results:

Primary voters of all ages and political ideologies who participated in this poll are making it clear that John McCain is not their choice for U.S. Senate. My name recognition is increasing which is very encouraging because we are so early in the election cycle. Arizona voters are looking for a fresh, bold, proven leader with new ideas to move our country in the right direction. Over thirty years of the same old Establishment pragmatism has worn thin and turned many of those currently in D.C. into Democrat-lite lawmakers – people are ready to Shake Up D.C. with me.

“Join me and thousands of my fellow Arizonans who want to change D.C. at KelliWard.com,” she added.

The Gravis Marketing poll was sponsored by One America News Network.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana