The
Arizona Republican Party officially canceled its presidential primary contest Monday, a move which will surely make the unlikely shared dream of challenging
President Trump shared even tougher to achieve for former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld (R), former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R), and former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), all of whom have officially their candidacy.The hill obtained a letter from Arizona's GOP chair Kelli Ward to
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs that confirmed Arizona will join Kansas and Sanford's home state of South Carolina as the three states that have the nixed the idea of a primary. Nevada is expected to follow suit, The Hill reports.It's a familiar move for Arizona — the
Democratic Party did the same thing in 1996 and 2012 during the re-election campaigns for former presidents
Bill Clinton and
Barack Obama, respectively, while the
Republicans opted out in 2004 when former President
George W. Bush was the incumbent seeking another term. The party argues the move will both save taxpayers money and allow for investments elsewhere, including the general election. South Carolina and Kansas have provided similar reasoning.President Trump agrees, though it's safe to say he was slightly less guarded when divulging his opinions on the matter.