Former President Donald Trump is clashing with Republican leaders in Washington who are urging Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to run for Senate, vowing “MAGA” voters would oppose Ducey in the Republican primary.
Trump on Monday issued a statement declaring Republican voters loyal to him and who tend to vote in GOP primary contests “will never accept RINO Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona running for the U.S. Senate.” The former president’s comments come as top Senate Republicans urge Ducey to jump into the race, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell saying last week the governor “would be a star candidate.”
“Save your time, money and energy, Mitch,” Trump said in his statement.
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A handful of Republicans are vying to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly in November, including Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich; businessman Jim Lamon; venture capitalist Blake Masters, who was endorsed by the Club for Growth and enjoys the support of Republican megadonor Peter Thiel; and Mick McGuire, former adjutant general of the Arizona National Guard.
Ducey won reelection in 2018 in a landslide despite an otherwise Democratic wave election and is perhaps the Republican with the best chance of ousting Kelly in November. But Trump blames the governor for his loss in Arizona in 2020, making unsupported claims the election was stolen from him and that Ducey did nothing about it. The former president has criticized Brnovich for similar reasons.
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The governor has signaled he is disinclined to run for Senate this year. Still, some Republicans remain hopeful he will reverse course and jump into the primary before the early April deadline for candidates to file their intent to run.
