Republican Kelli Ward, the former state lawmaker who lost her U.S. Senate primary bid this year, is starting another campaign.

Ward launched her candidacy Monday for chair of the Arizona Republican Party, saying she is a unifying figure who can bring the party together “and usher in an overwhelming 2020” — with victories at every level of government. President Donald Trump will be at the top of the ticket in 2020, as well as another U.S. Senate seat.

Ward, an osteopathic physician, excites Republican base voters but does not enthuse the more moderate, establishment wing of the state party, which may back another candidate to try to deny her the chair when votes are cast in January.

“The Party of Lincoln and Goldwater should be one that is led by the grassroots,” Ward, 49, said in a statement to The Arizona Republic. “Unfortunately, over the last four years, the grassroots within the Republican Party have been silenced and disenfranchised both nationally and at the state level in Arizona.

“Therefore, after much prayer and careful consideration, I have decided to run for chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. In this new era of Arizona Republican politics, it is time to finally unite our party.”

The Arizona Republican Party's election for chair is scheduled for Jan. 26.

The current chairman, Jonathan Lines, is expected to run for re-election.

As she works to build broad support around her candidacy, Ward almost certainly will lean into her 2015 role as chairwoman of the state Senate Education Committee, as well as her medical background, to try to earn the support of the moderate wing of the party. Health care and education were among the top issues voters cared about this election cycle.

During Ward's senatorial primary race, grassroots GOP voters cheered her hard-line positions on illegal immigration and her echoes of Trump’s rhetoric about the “fake news” media and the need for a border wall. Those voters also embraced her attacks on the late U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whom she unsuccessfully challenged in 2016.

While she built a national profile by blistering McCain for his thumbs-down vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act and his more moderate immigration policies, other Republicans have spurned her because of them.

Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost their primary races to U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz.

Ward won the support of about 28 percent of GOP primary voters.

Republicans lost their hold on one of Arizona's U.S. Senate seats for the first time in 30 years when McSally lost to U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

Follow the reporter on Twitter and Facebook. Contact her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com.