Arizona state Republicans this weekend voted to censure Cindy McCain (John McCain’s widow), as well as other party leaders that backed Joe Biden the 2020 election. Lawmakers met Saturday to discuss the future of the Republican Party. The meeting comes after the state of Arizona voted blue for the fist time in decades.
In addition to the censures, lawmakers reelected controversial Chairwoman Kelli Ward. Ward is a vocal Trump supporter who continues to question the results of the election. “Yes, I will be radical about those things because those are the things that will keep this country great,” said Ward, who earned a special endorsement from President Trump.
Lawmakers censured McCain for supporting “globalist policies and candidates” and for “condemning President Trump for his criticism of her husband.”
Lawmakers also censured Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) because he “condemned the Republican Party, rejected populism, and rejected the interests of the American people over globalist interests.”
They even censured Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R), who put off members of his own party for implementing ‘unconstitutional’ pandemic restrictions and refused to challenge the state’s electoral votes.
Cindy McCain, who endorsed Biden back in September, was unfazed by the censure.
In fact, she said, “It is a high honor to be included in a group of Arizonans who have served our state and our nation so well…and who, like my late husband John, have been censured by the AZGOP,” said McCain. “I’ll wear this as a badge of honor.”
Ducey responded to the censure by confirming that he would not run for Senate. He had been the favorite to run against Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) in 2022.
Speaking earlier this month during an episode of The View, McCain added that the Republican Party had lost its way. “When I began in the Republican Party officially, the Republican Party was the party of inclusion. It was the party of generosity, it was the party of country first…It’s time we get back on track because we have always been the party that cared deeply, that loved what our country did and what it stood for.”
Arizona State lawmakers also censured John McCain in 2014, after which he defeated Ward in a primary election.
Sources:
Arizona Republicans censure Cindy McCain, GOP governor
Cindy McCain Responds to Arizona GOP Censuring Her for Supporting Biden Over Trump
Arizona Republicans Censure Party Leaders at Odds With Trump