SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Gov. Jan Brewer, a chief executive with widespread appeal among Republicans in the Grand Canyon State, endorsed Mitt Romney on Sunday, giving the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination another boost from the party establishment before Tuesday’s primary.
With other members of Arizona’s Republican establishment coalescing around Romney, Brewer’s endorsement reinforces the notion that party kingmakers have cast their lot with the former Massachusetts governor — even as the party’s right wing clamors for a candidate they feel is better qualified to carry the conservative flag.
The Brewer endorsement is a shot in the arm for Romney, who remains in a tight race with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in this Western swing state. Like Romney’s other prominent supporters, Brewer said electability was a major factor in her decision.
“I think that he has that pro-business background and political history that I think he would serve America best of all the candidates,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “I think Mitt is by far the person who can go in and win.”
In Arizona and elsewhere, Romney is the overwhelming favorite of the political establishment. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the party’s 2008 nominee, along with the state’s GOP congressional delegation and most local officials, is backing Romney, who McCain defeated four years earlier for the nomination.
However, Republican voter discontent with incumbent politicians — particularly in Arizona — could diminish the influence of Romney’s collection of endorsements.
“Shoot, the fact that all those politicians like Romney makes me want to vote for Santorum even more,” said Peter Christopher, a mechanic from Scottsdale, who identified himself as a “card-carrying member of the Tea Party.” “Why should we follow their advice? They don’t seem like much of an expert on anything.”
Brewer’s support of Arizona’s toughest-in-the-nation immigration law has made her a controversial figure on the national political stage. Still, Arizona Republicans — including the Tea Party faction — maintain a favorable view of her job performance.
“It’s clear it probably won’t hurt Romney [in the primary],” said Bruce Merrill, a veteran Arizona political scientist and senior research fellow at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy. “I think the bigger significance of her endorsement is that there appears to be some momentum swinging to Romney in these last few days before the primary.”
Romney is up about 10 percentage points in the state, according to a recent Real Clear Politics poll average. Santorum had clawed his way to a statistical tie with Romney here in recent days, surveys showed, but a poor debate performance last week apparently stifled Santorum’s momentum.
Though the center of the political universe has shifted to Michigan, which also votes Tuesday, Arizona is arguably just as significant, if no more so. The Arizona contest is winner-take-all, meaning that all 29 of the state’s convention delegates will be awarded to the winner — unlike Michigan, where the state’s 30 delegates are divided proportionately among all finishers.
And analysts say that Romney’s cadre of local officeholders gives him an edge in Arizona, where more than 100,000 ballots were cast well before Santorum surged in the polls following victories earlier this month in Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri.
