Controversial Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kelli Ward on Monday compared political correctness to cancer days after her former political rival Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., died after a yearlong battle with an aggressive form of the disease.
“Political correctness is like a cancer!” Ward, a physician and ex-state senator, wrote on Twitter, one day before Arizona members of the GOP go to the polls in the state’s primary elections.
Political correctness is like a cancer!
— Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) August 27, 2018
Ward drew ire on Saturday after she insinuated in a now-deleted Facebook comment that the McCain family timed an announcement that McCain would no longer receive treatment for glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, to undermine her campaign.
“I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that they hope is negative to me,” Ward wrote, referring to how the McCain camp’s announcement coincided with her plans to embark on a campaign bus tour.
McCain died later Saturday at the age of 81.
Ward is no stranger to controversy. She was criticized during her 2016 Republican Senate primary against McCain for highlighting his age and suggesting he may pass away in office if elected for a sixth term.
Ward is vying against Rep. Martha McSally and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Tuesday’s GOP Senate primary to replace Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who is retiring after the 2018 election cycle. McSally, an establishment darling, is favored to win.
