Gov. Doug Ducey closed the door on a bid for Arizona‘s highly competitive Senate seat, a blow to the Republican Party establishment while satiating the Trump wing.
The term-limited governor told donors in a letter he was an executive “by nature and by training” and that he would instead focus on rallying support for Republicans in competitive races across the state, capitulating to the express wishes of former President Donald Trump that he sit out.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1646326185522,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1646326185522,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000179-379a-dbb2-a7fd-bfda8bfc0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_46239597", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"965440"} }); ","_id":"0000017f-505b-d628-a1ff-d0db0dc10000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
“If you’re going to run for public office, you have to really want the job,” he wrote in a letter to donors. “Right now I have the job I want, and my intention is to close my years of service to Arizona with a very productive final legislative session AND to help elect Republican governors across the country in my role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.”
ARIZONA STATE SEN. WENDY ROGERS CENSURED OVER ‘UNBECOMING’ BEHAVIOR
A spokesperson for the governor confirmed his decision to the Washington Examiner.
It isn’t immediately clear which candidates will benefit from the governor’s decision. Still, his refusal to enter likely consolidates the race to two candidates: Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Thiel Foundation President Blake Masters. Ducey lauded the “strong field of candidates in Arizona” and vowed he “will be actively supporting our nominee.”
National Republicans led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to recruit Ducey for the race, hoping his high profile and fundraising abilities could help them edge out incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
But Ducey drew Trump’s ire when he supported certifying Biden’s electoral victory, earning him the moniker of a “RINO,” or Republican In Name Only.
“MAGA will never accept RINO Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona running for the U.S. Senate — So save your time, money, and energy, Mitch,” Trump wrote in a Feb. 14 tweemail.
Ducey was first elected governor in 2014 and won reelection with a double-digit margin in 2018. Since then, the state has begun trending more toward Democrats, with the elections of Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2020 followed by President Joe Biden becoming the first Democratic hopeful to carry the state since 1996.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Arizona Republican’s decision mirrors New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu’s rejection of a Senate bid last year. Like Ducey, he was recruited by national Republicans to run for the Senate but ultimately rebuffed those pleas due to his misgivings about the odds of “getting stuff done” in a slow-moving Congress. Other Republican governors who have rejected recruiters’ pleas to run for Senate include Vermont Gov. Phil Scott and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
The Senate race has been regarded as one of the most competitive in the country and could determine the balance of power in Congress.
