Libertarian icon and former candidate for President of the United States Ron Paul is endorsing Dr. Kelli Ward for U.S. Senate from Arizona in the Republican primary against five-term incumbent Sen. John McCain.

Dr. Paul says in a letter to fellow family practice physician Ward:

As a physician, you have seen first­hand how ObamaCare has reduced our liberties in just a few short years. During your time as state senator, you have fought to reduce the size of government and restore the liberties of Arizonans. We need to elect more people into the U.S. Senate to stand alongside my son, Rand Paul. Because of your dedication to smaller government and restoring more of our personal liberties, I am proud to endorse your campaign for the U.S. Senate.

Paul served several terms as the U.S. Representative from Texas. He served as a doctor in the U.S. Air Force from 1963 to 1965 and with the U.S. Air National Guard from 1965 to 1968 as detailed on biography.com. Ward is a military wife.

Former state legislator Ward said of Paul’s endorsement:

Ron Paul’s support is another sign of our amazing momentum to retire John McCain. Dr. Paul is the gold standard of conservative leadership that I plan to abide by: never vote for legislation that is not expressly authorized by the Constitution. “Like Dr. Paul, I will take up the torch of liberty and fight tirelessly alongside Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee, and Ted Cruz for limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, and a return to honest money. No tax hikes, unbalanced budgets, congressional perks or pay raises, or abdications of power to the executive branch.

Specifically addressing younger Americans, Ward said:

The “Ron Paul Revolution” has inspired a new generation to fight for America’s founding principles. Younger voters especially are astounded that Senator McCain has been in DC for $17.5 trillion of the $19 trillion national debt, voting for at least 21 debt ceiling increases along the way. My strong record of standing up to the leadership of both parties to dramatically reduce the size of government and return to constitutional principles is attracting them to our team.

Ward and McCain tied 41-41 when matched up head to head in a mid-May Public Policy Polling survey. The header of the poll read, in part, “McCain In Deep Trouble in GOP Primary.” It showed that a mere 35 percent of Republican respondents approved of McCain’s job performance. D.C. insider McCain currently benefits from the three other Republicans in the race that each account for between 2 and 4 percent of respondents in the new poll.

The McCain campaign and the McCain-aligned Arizona Grassroots Action PAC have been engaged in attacks against serious primary election challenger Ward.

The Ward campaign has launched it’s own ad taking McCain to task over his history on foreign policy issues.

Members of McCain’s own party formally censured the senator over “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.” After the vote, Politico reported that McCain allies began working to unseat unfavorable Arizona conservatives in influential party positions.

Arizona holds it’s primary election on August 30, 2016. The Arizona Secretary of State reports more than 35 percent of Arizona voters were registered for neither the Republican nor Democratic parties as of May 17, 2016. Approximately 34 percent were registered Republican and just over 28 percent were registered Democratic Party.

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