Former Arizona State Senator Kelli Ward picked up the endorsement of statewide officeholder Diane Douglas, the Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, in her bid to defeat Sen. John McCain in a Republican primary.

“I worked closely with Kelli Ward while she was a State Senator and I have no doubt she will perform just as exemplary in Washington, D.C. on Arizona’s behalf.” Douglas said at a meeting of the Sun City West Republican Club.

“When it comes to core conservative views, fresh blood and the will to change up the way things are done at the Capitol, I have no reservations for strongly endorsing Kelli Ward.”

Superintendent Douglas went on to say, “I highly recommend others to join me in supporting the conservative new blood, Kelli Ward.“

Douglas has faced heat over her opposition to Common Core in Arizona. In January 2015 she went so far as to criticize Arizona education standards that are basically Common Core by another name. “Sen. Kelli Ward and Rep. Mark Finchem have bravely pursued this same course with House Bill 2190,” Douglas told Breitbart News during a fight over the bill.

Ward – a practicing medical doctor – told Breitbart News of Douglas’ endorsement:

I am humbled to have Superintendent Douglas’s support. From my time as Chair of the Arizona Senate Education Committee, I have seen that she has been a tireless advocate for the betterment of public education in Arizona.

Her endorsement confirms that I am the best choice for future generations of Arizonans- students, parents, and educators alike.

Ward is on a 10-day bus tour of several Arizona counties. She is reaching out to voters with the message that she is the conservative candidate and that respectfully it is time to retire McCain.

Ward raised some $660,000 through the end of 2015 in her effort to replace McCain, who’s well remembered among Arizona conservatives for his failed 2010 campaign promise to “build the danged fence” at the border. He made the promise during a stiff primary challenge from fellow republican J.D. Hayworth. At the time McCain still held a war chest of funds from his failed 2008 bid for President of the United States.

In late 2015, Ward polled nine per cent ahead of McCain among more than 1,200 Arizona voters who indicated an intention to vote in the 2016 Arizona primary election. It will be held at the end of August.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana