Kelli Ward
Kelli Ward (née Kaznoski; born January 25, 1969) is an American politician who served as the chair of the Arizona Republican Party from 2019 to 2023. She previously served in the Arizona State Senate from 2013 to 2015.
Kelli Ward | |
|---|---|
| Chair of the Arizona Republican Party | |
| In office January 26, 2019 – January 28, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jonathan Lines |
| Succeeded by | Jeff DeWit |
| Member of the Arizona Senate from the 5th district | |
| In office January 14, 2013 – December 15, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Ron Gould |
| Succeeded by | Sue Donahue |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Kelli Kaznoski January 25, 1969 Fairmont, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Duke University (BS) West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) A.T. Still University, Arizona (MPH) |
| Website | Official website |
She challenged incumbent Senator John McCain in the Republican primary for the United States Senate in 2016. 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, and then against Martha McSally, 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, in which incumbent President Donald Trump lost in 25 states, including Arizona, she filed lawsuits seeking to nullify the state's election results. When she did this, she provided no evidence of wrongdoing in the election and by December 9, federal and state judges had dismissed all of her challenges against President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Arizona.