PHOENIX – The divide between the establishment of the Republican Party of Arizona and the pro-Trump wing widened when committee members censored Republican Governor Doug Ducey; Cindy McCain, widow of Senator John McCain, the party’s presidential candidate in 2008; and former Republican Senator Jeff Flake.
Republicans have also re-elected Kelli Ward, an important Donald Trump supporter, as president. Endorsed by Mr. Trump, she traded barbs with Mr. Ducey and other establishment figures and asked for censorship approval.
“This electoral cycle has exposed that we have a lot of clientelism in our party, from top to bottom,” she said.
Arizona’s Republican divisions mirror other states in the wake of Trump’s election defeat and the Capitol rebellion on January 6. Ten Republican House members who voted to impeach Trump for urging his supporters to protest on Capitol Hill are being targeted for primary challenges.
On Saturday in Kentucky, Senator Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) Rejected a small group of Trump supporters who oppose his statements that he is keeping an open mind about Trump’s sentencing at his Senate trial.