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 major backer before Tuesday’s Arizona primary.
“I have decided that I’m going to publicly endorse Mitt Romney,” Brewer said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” ending weeks of speculation about whom she would support. “I think he’s the man who can carry the day.”
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.
Brewer said that electability was a major factor in her choice of Romney over his Republican rivals.
“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. “I think Mitt is by far the person who can go in and win.”
In Arizona, like other states, Romney has the overwhelming support of the political establishment. Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s nominee in 2008, and a majority of the state’s GOP congressional delegation are backing the former Massachusetts governor.
Brewer’s support of the nation’s strongest anti-immigration law has made her a controversial figure on the national political stage, but Arizona Republicans still hold a particularly favorable view of her job performance.
