Hours before Senator John McCain died on Saturday, a Republican seeking Arizona’s other US Senate seat suggested that his family’s earlier announcement that he was ending cancer treatment had been timed to hurt her campaign.
Friday’s announcement of McCain ending medical treatment for aggressive brain cancer came the same day former state senator Kelli Ward was launching a statewide bus tour – her big push before Tuesday’s primary.
A campaign aide to Ward wrote on Facebook: ‘I wonder if John McCain’s trying to steal attention from Ward’s bus tour by announcing his life is coming to an end.’
Ward, who lost a primary to McCain running from the right in 2016 and is now trying to win the GOP nomination for retiring Senator Jeff Flake’s seat, said in response: ‘I think they wanted to have a particular narrative that is negative to me.’
FILE – In this May 2, 2018 file photo, Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kelli Ward speaks to the media as she prepares to file her nominating petitions at the state Capitol in Phoenix. Ward, running for her party’s nomination for an open Senate seat, suggested the announcement that McCain was ending medical treatment was intended to hurt her campaign hours before Sen. John McCain died on Saturday, Aug. 25. (AP Photo/Bob Christie, File)
A screens shot of Ward’s response was tweeted out, inciting backlash as the war hero died the following day.
Ward deleted the comment as the photo made its rounds online, instead replacing the post, saying the ‘fake’ is making up stories to hinder her chances at gaining the Senate seat.
‘I’ve said again and again to pray for Senator McCain & his family,’ Ward wrote. ‘These decisions are terrible to have to make. I feel compassion for him and his family as they go through this.’
Ward has acknowledged she is the underdog in Tuesday’s primary.
She faces Rep Martha McSally and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
The McCain family’s statement Friday read: ‘The progress of disease and inexorable advance of age render their verdict,’ the family said in a statement shared on Twitter by his daughter and The View co-host Meghan McCain. ‘With his usual strength of will, he has now chosen to discontinue medical treatment.’
It continued: ‘Our family is immensely grateful for the support and kindness of all his caregivers over the last year, and for the continuing outpouring of concern and affection from John’s many friends and associates, and the many thousands of people who are keeping him in their prayers.’
Jabs were taken toward Senator McCain at the bus tour at the bus tour by Ward and Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren – even after the family released statement.
While addressing a group of Ward supporters, Lahren reportedly said: ‘We can’t put up another RINO like McCain and Flake’.
CNN reporter Kyung Lah, who was covering the event, tweeted that when Ward got up to speak she repeated Lahren’s comment saying they could not elect another McCain or Flake.
The term RINO stands for Republican In Name Only and is used by conservative Republicans against other Republicans who they believe has fallen short of certain political ideals and are more liberal than they feel they should be.
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