Super PAC ad skewers Trump-backed Arizona Senate candidate as 'embarrassing' conspiracy theorist
A super PAC "closely aligned" with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) released an ad Tuesday that skewers Kelli Ward, the Republican primary challenger to Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, Politico reports. Ward has been publicly backed by President Trump. The ad is the latest move in an unfolding proxy war between Trump and certain Senate Republicans, where the future of vulnerable Sen. Flake, a constant thorn in the president's side, hangs in the balance.
The Senate Leadership Fund's ad blasts Ward for being an "embarrassing" conspiracy theorist, dubbing her "Chemtrail Kelli Ward" and "not conservative. Just crazy ideas." The ad additionally slams Ward for calling on Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to resign following his cancer diagnosis after having previously lost to him "big league" in a bid for the Senate last year.
People close to the super PAC told Politico that the Senate Leadership Fund's "offensive [is] part of a broader effort to show that any Trump-led push to undermine Flake, or any GOP incumbent for that matter, won't go uncontested." Watch the ad below. Jeva Lange
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
‘City leaders must recognize its residents as part of its lifeblood’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
10 upcoming albums to stream during the winter chillThe Week Recommends As the calendar turns to 2026, check out some new music from your favorite artists
-
Kristi Noem might not be long for TrumplandIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Homeland Security secretary has been one of the most visible and vocal architects of Trump’s anti-immigration efforts, even as her own star risks fading
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
