Meet Kelli Ward, the State Senator Challenging Jeff Flake in 2018

On Thursday morning, a little-known state senator from Arizona got a big boost from the president of the United States, all because she’s challenging Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in next year’s GOP primary for Flake’s U.S. Senate seat.

Great to see that Dr. Kelli Ward is running against Flake Jeff Flake, who is WEAK on borders, crime and a non-factor in Senate. He's toxic!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017

So, who exactly is Dr. Kelli Ward? Here’s an introduction.

Ward challenged Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in a primary for his Senate seat in 2016, and lost by nearly 13 points.

McCain pointed out that Ward has expressed sympathy for ‘chemtrail’ conspiracy theorists, in a brutal ad criticizing her judgment:

According to the The Arizona Republic, Ward held a meeting in 2014 where she praised people who believe “chemicals [are] purposely [being] sprayed from aircraft, presumably by the U.S. government.”

“The people who are concerned about this, I did describe you as relentless,” she told the audience. “That is not a bad thing to be; it’s not a good thing for me as an elected representative … to ignore what many people in my district are concerned about.”

One problem? The U.S. government is not spraying chemicals from airplanes.

More recently, Ward has fundraised off of the Alexandria shooting. Her opponent, Flake, was there.

The day after McCain disclosed he had been diagnosed with brain cancer, Ward told a conservative radio host that McCain should step aside and suggested that she should replace him.

Of course, Trump is not necessarily a fan of McCain either.

Trump scheduled a rally in Phoenix for Tuesday of next week. It’s unclear at this time whether Ward will make an appearance with the president.