Mississippi State Senator Chris McDaniel endorsed Dr. Kelli Ward for U.S. Senate in an announcement released Tuesday as the former Arizona State Senator seeks to unseat five-term incumbent Sen. John McCain.
”John McCain served our country well a long time ago, putting principles first and refusing to compromise, but now his chief principle is compromise whenever conservative convictions are on the line,” said McDaniel in an exclusive comment for Breitbart News.
In January 2015 McDaniel launched the United Conservatives Fund Political Action Committee (PAC) with the purpose of “electing conservatives and holding Republicans accountable while messaging conservatism in a way that secures conservatives get a chance to be elected even over some of those in the establishment.”
McDaniel ran a hard fought battle to replace Sen. Thad Cochran in 2014. While McDaniel beat Cochran in the June 3 primary election, a third candidate in the race left McDaniel short of the 50 percent he needed to avoid a runoff election. Cochran came back with a race card play to get Democrats to cross over and support him over McDaniel.
“We’re proud to earn Senator McDaniel’s support. Conservatives all across America are excited about the momentum we’re gaining to Retire John McCain,” said Ward in response to McDaniel’s endorsement.
“Republicans want a U.S. Senator who will finally mix the mortar to fix the border and stop illegal immigration, a conservative champion for Arizona’s future.”
“Clearly McCain and his big government cronies are worried,” said McDaniel. “Why else would their sketchy, dark money Super PACs be spending millions of dollars to scare voters and lie about Kelli’s record as a champion of the constitution? The establishment is trying to do the same thing to conservatives in Arizona as they did two years ago in Mississippi.”
In the statement released Tuesday, McDaniel said:
John McCain has surrendered on all the issues that matter most: the federal takeover of education, Obamacare and Planned Parenthood funding, Wall Street bailouts, amnesty for illegal immigrants, too many Middle East misadventures to count, and at least 21 to debt ceiling increases, mortgaging America’s future for generations to come, $17.5 trillion of our $19 trillion national debt.
The only Republican who can win the people’s senate seat in Arizona is Dr. Kelli Ward because of her vast, real life experience outside politics.
Ronald Reagan said we win by raising up ‘a banner, not of pale pastels, but of bright, bold colors.’ Dr. Kelli Ward has already shown her true colors as an Arizona State Senator with a 100% prolife voting record, fighting to protect our constitutional rights, especially the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Amendments against unconstitutional federal overreach.
Kelli will be a “Bold, Fresh, Fearless” conservative champion in the U.S. Senate. She will stand with Cruz, Lee, and Paul for the right to life, for the 10th Amendment, for killing Common Core, replacing Obamacare with freemarket medicine, keeping our promises to our veterans, and finally securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration once and for all.
Ward’s campaign has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) regarding the Arizona Grassroots Action PAC. The Ward campaign cites a shared address between the PAC and John McCain’s re-election campaign, Friends of John McCain. The complaint claims that two attack mailers violated FEC regulations by failing to include “paid for by” on the paraphernalia.
Ward and McCain were tied when matched up head to head in a mid-May Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey. The matchup comes despite Ward having a mere 41 percent name recognition according to the poll. Ward stepped down from the Arizona State Senate to campaign full-time in an effort to replace McCain. McCain’s approval rating has slipped to a mere 35 percent in the recent poll, a six percent drop from a PPP poll one year prior.
Three other Republican candidates running for McCain’s senate seat scored a negligible two to four percent in the recent PPP poll.
Longtime constitutional conservative icon and pro-family leader Phyllis Schlafly strongly endorsed Ward last week stating, “I wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Kelli Ward for U.S. Senator from Arizona.” Schlafly was pivotal in the insertion of the pro-life plank to the Republican Party platform at the party’s 1976 national convention.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana