Pro-family conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly endorsed Dr. Kelli Ward in her campaign to replace incumbent John McCain in the U.S. Senate.

“I wholeheartedly endorse Dr. Kelli Ward for U.S. Senator from Arizona,” said Schlafly in a recorded statement released late Wednesday.

Constitutional attorney Schlafly has been championing conservative causes since 1972 as founder and CEO of the Eagle Forum. Ward’s campaign highlighted Schlafly’s historic influence in the conservative movement including, “the successful insertion of the pro-life plank into the Republican platform at the 1976 Republican National Convention.”

The Ward campaign also pointed out recent mentions of Ward and Schlafly in their commentaries on Sen. McCain, who recently pushed for including women in mandatory selective service:

Schlafly recently mentioned Ward in an article slamming John McCain’s inclusion of mandatory selective service for women in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act: https://www.creators.com/read/phyllis-schlafly/05/16/male-and-female-still-matter-in-combat. Ward also sided with Schlafly in her analysis of the issue on her own website: http://www.kelliward.com/mccain_draft_our_daughters_too.

Ward said of Schlafly’s endorsement:

I am profoundly honored to have Phyllis Schlafly’s support. She is truly the matriarch of the Conservative movement. She and Conservatives all across America are excited about the surging strength of this campaign. They know from my background as a mother, military wife, and family doctor that I will be a 100% pro-life conservative champion for Arizona. As Ronald Reagan said, Conservatives win with ‘bright, bold colors,’ not ‘pale pastels.’ I will finally fix the VA and mix the mortar to fix the border.

Schlafly has called immigration a defining battle for our country. McCain has been heavily criticized by Arizonans for an unfulfilled campaign promise from 2010 to complete “the danged fence.” He was also one of eight senators behind the Gang of 8 bill that would have given de-facto amnesty to foreign nationals illegally present in the United States.

In January 2014 McCain was strongly censured by a vote among members of his own party for “a long and terrible record of drafting, co- sponsoring and voting for legislation best associated with liberal Democrats, such as Amnesty, funding for ObamaCare, the debt ceiling, assaults on the Constitution and 2nd amendment, and has continued to support liberal nominees.”

In a Public Policy Polling survey released a week ago Ward and McCain were tied 41-41 in a head to head matchup. Arizonans dissatisfied with McCain could be let down with three minor polling Republican Senate candidates dividing the no-to-McCain crowd. At between 2 and 4 percent polling Alex Meluskey, Scott McBean, and Clair Van Steenwyk could be McCain’s salvation, providing the cushion he needs to squeeze through to November according to the PPP poll. If those three were to step out of the race Ward stands a better chance to succeed in the August 30 Republican primary election.

Ward has gained considerably on McCain from a PPP poll one year ago in which the then far lesser known Ward lost to McCain 44-31 compared to the head-to-head tie between the two in the recent poll.

The Schlafly endorsement lends a greatly influential endorsement to Ward in her pursuit to retire the five-term senator McCain, known better to Democratic Party presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton as her favorite republican.

Schlafly recently endorsed presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump. McCain bashed some Arizona Trump supporters as “crazies” after a Phoenix campaign rally saying, “This performance with our friend out in Phoenix is very hurtful to me.”

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