About Dr. Kelli Ward

Dr. Kelli Ward entered politics in 2012 when she was elected to the Arizona State Senate. While serving two terms in office, she continued to practice medicine in emergency departments in Lake Havasu City and Kingman, Arizona.

During her three years serving in the state legislature, Dr. Ward established a proven track record of passing legislation that supported small businesses, preserved the Second Amendment, decreased the size of government, fought the opioid crisis, protected vulnerable Arizona students, and increased school choice. Dr. Ward was one the most effective leaders in the Arizona Senate during her final year in office, getting 19 separate bills through the legislature and to the governor’s desk.

In July 2015, Dr. Ward announced her candidacy for the United States Senate, challenging 34-year incumbent Sen. John McCain in the Republican primary in the 2016 election. Despite being outspent 10-to-1, Dr. Ward held Sen. McCain to his lowest historical primary total ever at 51 percent.

In October 2016, Dr. Ward announced that she would run against Sen. Jeff Flake, one of President Trump’s loudest critics in the U.S. Senate, who, after overwhelming opposition decided that because he could not beat Dr. Ward in the primary election, he would leave the Senate at the end of his term. Although Kelli lost the primary election in August 2018, she remained active in Arizona politics.

In 2019, Kelli was elected as only the second woman to lead the Republican Party of Arizona as Chairman and looks forward to helping bring consistent leadership that grows our party. In 2021, with the endorsement of President Donald J. Trump, Dr. Ward was re-elected as Chairman, grew the AZGOP fundraising base and strengthened the party before turning over the reins to a new chairman in January 2023.