Gov. Doug Ducey is thumbing his nose at the Arizona Republican Party, announcing that he looks forward to representing his state at the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, “a good man who wants to serve his country.”
Ducey is a Republican in his second term and the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, the political organization charged with winning gubernatorial contests for the GOP in 2021 and 2022. But he is under fire from party activists at home for refusing to back President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen — and declining to attempt to overturn Biden’s narrow victory in Arizona, the first for a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly 25 years.
The Arizona Republican Party responded by scheduling a Jan. 23 vote to censure Ducey. The state GOP’s chairwoman, Kelli Ward, is a committed Trump supporter, as is its activist base. But the governor has been dismissive of their criticism. On Thursday, Ducey posted an extended thread on Twitter Thursday commending Biden and touting his plans to attend the Jan. 20 inauguration.
“In America, we believe in the peaceful transition of power. It doesn’t matter who you supported in the election — once the election is over, we put country before party. Never has it been more important than right now to observe these traditions for the whole world to see,” he wrote. “President-elect Biden is assuming office at a critical time in our nation’s history, and I wish him well.”
In America, we believe in the peaceful transition of power. It doesn’t matter who you supported in the election — once the election is over, we put country before party. Never has it been more important than right now to observe these traditions for the whole world to see. 1/
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) January 14, 2021
