Cindy McCain, former Republican Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, and Republican Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey were each formally censured by the Arizona Republican Party Saturday.
Flake and McCain, the widow of longtime Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain, were censured for support of Democrats and opposition to former President Donald Trump, according to The Arizona Republic. Ducey was reprimanded for his emergency rules instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allegedly “restrict personal liberties and force compliance to unconstitutional edicts.”
McCain was accused of supporting “globalist policies and candidates” and condemning Trump for attacking her husband, according to The Republic. The party also said she “erroneously placed behaviors over actual presidential results.”
McCain endorsed President Joe Biden in the 2020 general election. (RELATED: ‘I Was Lied To’: Meghan McCain Lashes Out At Biden, Fauci And Amazon Over COVID Hypocrisy)
Flake’s charges are similar. Party members reportedly suggested he join the Democrats, saying he “condemned the Republican Party, rejected populism, and rejected the interests of the American people over globalist interests.”
AZ GOP Chair Kelli Ward wins her re-election on the second ballot, she won 51.5% to 48.5%, according to spox. Ahead of the vote Ward played a video of Trump urging committee members to vote for her. Ward is often critical of Az Gov. Doug Ducey or GOP establishment.
— Eliza Collins (@elizacollins1) January 23, 2021
State party chair Kelli Ward was also narrowly re-elected to the same role during Saturday’s proceedings, securing 51.5% of the vote. Republicans lost both statewide elections in Arizona under her leadership in 2020. Biden was the first Democrat to win the state in a presidential election since Bill Clinton in 1996.
Ducey also faced criticism from party members at the event for not supporting Trump’s efforts to overturn election results in the state. The event became unruly at one point when failed Senate candidate Daniel McCarthy took the stage, saying, “This party put Doug Ducey in office and Doug Ducey should be recalled by this party. … Why don’t you want to recall the man that certified the fraudulent election?”
“This is not Republican behavior,” says @kelliwardaz as all hell breaks loose at the Arizona GOP meeting. @AZGOP pic.twitter.com/tRnKZcNPOd
— Michael Edgecomb (@TheEdgePHX) January 23, 2021
The Trump campaign’s assertions that Biden won Arizona by means of fraud were repeatedly shot down by the court system. (RELATED: Meghan McCain Criticizes Arizona GOP Over Tweet About Dying For Trump)
Ducey’s political director issued a statement on the censure after the event: “These resolutions are of no consequence whatsoever, and the people behind them have lost whatever little moral authority they may have once had.”
