Kelly Townsend (born September 27, 1968) is an American Republican politician. She was a member of the Arizona Senate representing District 16 from 2021 to 2023, and previously was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 to 2021, acting as Majority Whip from 2017 to 2018.
Early years
Townsend grew up in Oregon and served in the United States Navy as an aircraft mechanic. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and small business from Southern Oregon University.
Political career and electoral history
Greater Phoenix Tea Party
In 2010 Townsend was a member of the Greater Phoenix Tea Party. She first ran for the Arizona House of Representatives in a six-way Republican primary in District 22, placing fourth with 5,446 votes; The next year she campaigned for legislation requiring proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for ballot access. The legislation was passed by the Arizona State Legislature but vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer. In 2012 she was one of four candidates in District 16 for the Republican House of Representatives primary, placing first with 9,298 votes. She won the second seat in the five-way general election with 40,720 votes against Democratic nominee Matthew Cerra, Arizona Green Party candidate Bill Maher, and Democratic write-in candidate Cara Prior.
Agenda 21 Activism and McCain History
Townsend is an anti-agenda 21 activist who demanded an apology from former Congressman John McCain after he called Tea Partiers and anti-agenda 21 activists "hobbits."
Patriot Party Movement of Arizona
By 2018, Townsend's activism with the Arizona Tea Party later merged into collaboration with the Patriot Movement of Arizona in which Townsend led and promoted the group speaking at protests, events, and rallies, while encouraging members to stand up and fight for their rights and Country.
Bundy Ranch Standoff
Townsend condemned Federal overreach attending the standoff between the FBI and Cliven Bundy in a fight over land rights. Oathkeeper Stewart Rhodes convicted for seditious conspiracy for the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and Oathkeeper and leader of the Constitutional Sheriff and Police Officers Association Sheriff Richard Mack, organized the standoff in support of the Bundy family Townsend, a longstanding anti-government activist and associate of Rhodes, condemned the FBI for their actions in the shooting death of Roy Finicum. In 2020, Townsend was openly a member of the Arizona State Militia group, a group who called themselves the Praetorian Guard. In 2014, this uniformed and armed group reportedly scared and intimidated Federal law enforcement at the Bundy Ranch standoff.
Public Comment on Trump and Stormy Daniels Controversy
Townsend, who introduced former President Donald Trump to Arizona politics before he ran for office, faced a recall effort by a local resident after she defended Trump as the allegations that Trump had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels became public, saying, "women who are acting in 'moral defiance' have 'no defense' if they are sexually harassed or raped."
Child Welfare System Policy Activism
In 2015, Townsend led a group of parents aggrieved by the child welfare system which they allege wrongfully removed their children from the home. In 2017, Townsend sponsored a bill to prohibit child welfare workers from lying in hearings or withholding exculpatory evidence. Townsend spoke out defending anti-vax parents whose child with a fever was removed based on allegations of medical neglect.
In 2019, Judge Timothy Ryan ordered Townsend removed from his court as she publicly criticized the child welfare system's removal of the child violating the rules surrounding confidentiality of CPS hearings. She challenged the Judge's decision asking that he put in writing why he was ordering her removal from his courtroom to which he responded it was noted in the record.
QAnon Affiliation
In June 2020, Townsend posted a QAnon video with a flaming "Q" to her social media and follows high-profile QAnon accounts. Some local Arizona politics reporters have referred to Townsend as the QAnon Queen of the Legislature.
Arizona House of Representatives
In 2014, Townsend along with fellow Arizona lawmakers attended the Bundy standoff. Townsend characterized the Federal government's response as reminiscent of Tiananmen Square. She subsequently won both the Republican Party primary and the general election, both with 39 percent of the vote.