Gosar endorses Ward over McSally in divisive Senate race

PHOENIX — U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) took the unusual step of endorsing Dr. Kelli Ward over his fellow Arizona colleague Rep. Martha McSally in the race for U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake’s seat this week.

In a statement, according to Tucson’s 790 AM, Gosar called Ward a “real conservative” who will support the agenda to make America great again.

“Putting a real conservative in the U.S. Senate is critical for the future of our country,” Gosar said. “We cannot afford another establishment patsy who promises one thing and votes differently.”

“Arizona has suffered for years with a lackluster senate delegation that promised one thing during the election and did another back in D.C.,” he added.

“Kelli is not like that. Her opponent, Martha McSally, is.”

Gosar then slammed McSally as being “inconsistent politically” and cannot be counted on to keep a campaign promise “as she will fall for whatever the D.C. elite tells her to do at the time.”

The Arizona Republican also praised Ward’s commitment to closing the nation’s borders and to President Donald Trump.

“This election will determine if Arizona has a senator who supports the American people and President Trump or a ‘Never Trumper,'” the statement continued.

“If you believe we can make America great again, and believe in our nation, then Dr. Kelli Ward is the only option. She deserves our support and our vote.”

Ward said in a statement on her campaign website that she welcomed the endorsement and that she looked forward to joining Gosar in Washington, D.C.

McSally’s spokeswoman Torunn Sinclair boasted McSally’s voting record in a statement and said if Gosar “voted with the president as much as Martha, we could accomplish even more for Arizonans.”

Gosar’s endorsement of Ward could make it harder for the Republican Party to hold onto the seat being left vacant by Flake this November.

A June poll found that McSally was currently leading Ward and fellow opponent Joe Arpaio by 14 points in the Republican primary race.

But a poll from that same month showed that Democratic Rep. Kyrsten Sinema was leading all of her Republican rivals in head-to-head match-ups.

Sinema topped Ward 43 percent to 35 percent; McSally 41 percent to 34 percent and Arpaio 45 percent to 28 percent.

Ward also recently received a $500,000 donation from conservative mega-donor Robert Mercer, who donated the money to KelliPAC, a super PAC that backs the Republican candidate.

Filings for the latest quarter were due this week, but none of the candidates’ financial totals had been updated yet.

Sinema had over $6.5 million in cash on hand through March 31, while McSally had almost $2.6 million.

Ward had just over $432,000 and Arpaio almost $255,000 during that time frame.

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