An ode to one of the worst GOP candidates in recent memory
By Aaron Blake
August 29 at 11:28 AM
For the second time in two years, Arizona Republicans held a Senate primary. And for the second time in two years, a uniquely bad and desperate candidate named Kelli Ward went down in flames.
Ward lost to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) by double-digits in 2016 despite some high-profile conservative support, and now she has lost to Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) by double-digits despite some even higher-profile conservative support. The final returns showed her getting just more than half (28 percent) of McSally’s support (52 percent) — a result that could spare national Republicans a massive headache in their quest to hold the Senate.
Recent history has included no shortage of extreme GOP nominees who tested the bounds of political discourse even within conservative primary electorates. Some of them imploded thanks to scandals (think Roy Moore) and gaffes (think Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock). Others won (think President Trump). But even next to them, Ward stands out for having consciously made poor tactical decisions, over and over again. While some candidates succumb to one incident, Ward seemed determined to pepper them throughout her campaign. While others make being extreme work, Ward just made it painful.
Ward burst on to the scene late in her 2016 primary by making a closing argument against McCain that basically amounted to this: He’s going to deteriorate and die soon. “I do know what happens to the body and the mind at the end of life,” she said. When asked whether she, as an actual medical doctor, felt comfortable diagnosing McCain, she said: “Diagnosing him as an 80-year-old man? Yes, I do.” Earlier in that same campaign, she appeared on conspiracy-theorist Alex Jones’s show, where the two discussed the idea McCain might have her assassinated.
more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/08/29/an-ode-one-worst-gop-candidates-recent-memory
= new reply since forum marked as read
