Kelli Ward pleads to Mitch McConnell to help Blake Masters. Why not ask Donald Trump?

Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward – having already played a role in losing not one but two U.S. Senate seats to Democrats – must really be feeling the heat.

She and top state GOP leaders on Monday sent a letter to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, pleading with him to come to the rescue of Blake Masters’ stumbling campaign.

“We are running out of time!” Ward and her fellow Republican leaders wrote, in boldface type. “Blake and Arizona need all the support we can get.”

The most interesting thing about the letter isn’t that Ward and her fellow MAGA warriors are turning to McConnell for support.

It’s that Ward and the party made their plea public.

And the second most interesting thing about the letter? It was addressed to McConnell – not to Donald Trump, who handpicked Masters but has put a laughably small sum of money where his mouth is.

McConnell seems to think Masters is a bad bet

In their appeal to McConnell, Ward and her fellow MAGA warriors called Arizona’s Senate race “a very winnable race” for Republicans. Never mind that Masters has consistently trailed Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly both in the polls and in his ability to attract campaign donations.

Or that he’s not fooling anyone with his sudden post-primary epiphany, in which the candidate who called for a national abortion ban earlier this year is now suddenly fine with abortions up to 15 weeks.

McConnell seems to have figured out that Masters is a bad investment.

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The Senate Leadership Fund in late August canceled $8 million in reserved TV time in Arizona. Separately, McConnell has acknowledged that MAGA may have ruined Republicans’ chances of retaking the Senate.

“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate. Senate races are just different,” he said last month, without naming names. “Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.”

Kelli Ward is spreading the blame early

Ward, meanwhile, seems to have figured out who might be blamed for losing yet another Senate race to Democrats. (State party officer elections are in January, after all.)

Thus comes Monday’s letter, attempting to put the onus on McConnell to cough up some cash.

“We believe if you were to shore up your support of Blake Masters publicly and financially, you would help him fend off the attacks, defeat Mark Kelly and return the Arizona Senate seat in Republican hands,” she and party leaders wrote.

Translation: It’s your fault, Sen. McConnell, if Masters tanks.

Why else would the Arizona Republican Party publicize the letter by sharing it on Twitter? Why else would Ward retweet it?

Come to think of it, why not write a letter instead, suggesting that Trump pony up for his handpicked candidate and setting him up for the blame, should his guy lose? The former president, after all, is sitting on $115 million across several political committees, according to the Associated Press.

Trump has only spent $5K so far. Why?

Trey Terry, a traditional Republican now on the outs with the party’s MAGA braintrust, raises an interesting question.

“McConnell’s PAC & allies have spent >$8 MILLION so far on the Arizona Senate race (and still spending more),” he tweeted. “On the other hand, Trump (who is largely responsible for selecting our nominee) has a PAC that dwarfs McConnell’s in funds. To date, he’s only spent $5,000 in AZ. Why? ”

FEC records confirm that.

Meanwhile, Masters has $1.5 million in the bank compared with Kelly’s nearly $25 million.

If Masters loses, it should be Strike 3 for Ward, who has played a key role in losing two Senate seats previously held by Republicans for 27 and 53 years, respectively. That’s not easy to do.

In 2018, she ran for the Senate, forcing the previously more moderate Rep. Martha McSally to veer so far to the right that she became unelectable. In 2020, Ward was state party chairwoman when McSally lost again.

The blame for this slate rests with her

No matter how Ward might try to spin a 2022 loss as Mitch McConnell’s fault, that dog just don’t hunt.

Kelli Ward happily declared war on more traditional Republicans this year, and she pushed and pulled and tugged at the party’s voters to nominate the most extreme slate of statewide candidates this state has ever seen.

No matter how hard she might try to blame McConnell, this one’s on Ward.

Did I mention that party elections are in January?

Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LaurieRoberts.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Kelli Ward's plea to Mitch McConnell shows she's feeling the heat