WASHINGTON, DC — Dr. Kelli Ward, the former Arizona state senator and now-candidate to replace Sen. Jeff Flake in the U.S. Senate, told Breitbart News on Tuesday that Sen. Jeff Flake’s decision to not seek re-election in 2018 “has paved the way for the America First agenda.”

Ward responded to the Flake news in a phone call with Breitbart News:

He saw the momentum that our campaign has, the professional organization that our campaign has. The heart and soul of the Republican Party. The heart and soul of the grassroots and also we’re at the top of the mind of the independents, the libertarians, the economic nationalist, and the evangelical community. They are looking for someone who can go to Washington and implement that into policy and do the things we need to do to get this country on the right path.

Today, the biggest neverTrumper out there admitted defeat and has paved the way for the America First agenda and the team that’s going to be able to carry that out and I believe I’m one of the leaders of that team.

Ward campaign chief strategist Eric Beach responded to the Flake news in another phone call with Breitbart News:

Kelli Ward embodies this movement and the movement is centered around following through with the Trump coalition agenda which is better trade deals, securing the U.S. border and jobs. In Arizona, we are going to see the contrast between Kelli Ward and Kyrsten Sinema. Sinema is out of touch with the Arizona voters and that will be demonstrated in the general election.

Sinema is a Democrat from Arizona currently serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Arizona’s 9th congressional district. She first assumed office in 2013.

Shortly after the announcement that Flake would not seek re-election, Ward tweeted, calling Arizona voters the “big winner” in Flake’s decision to not seek re-election.

Flake announced on Tuesday that he would not seek re-election in 2018. Flake has been a very vocal critic of President Donald Trump. He admitted on Tuesday that he could not win if he was to run, citing his positions on trade and immigration and stating he would have to condone behavior, which he couldn’t condone.

Flake’s announcement comes less than a month after grassroots-backed Judge Roy Moore was victorious against millions spent in support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked candidate for the seat.

Moore defeated Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican primary runoff election. He received strong support from a host of conservatives, including former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former White House chief strategist and Breitbart News executive chairman Steve Bannon, and former deputy assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka. Palin, Bannon,  and Gorka campaigned actively for Moore at a rally ahead of election day. Just hours before results in the election were determined, establishment Senator Bob Corker announced he would not seek re-election.

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