Arizona Gov. Says GOP Focused on Red States, But 'Can Win in any State in the Country'

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey spent the week discussing several national races while he oversaw the Republican Governors Association annual meeting in Phoenix, according to The Associated Press.

Ducey, currently the chairman of the RGA while in his second, and final due to term limits, term as Arizona's governor has been charged with raising money for governor's races across the country. The connections made in his current position with the top donors and strategists of the Republican party could be a factor in his political future, which Ducey declined to comment on at the meeting as he enters his final year as governor.

One thing Ducey did comment on, however, is the recent elections in states like Virginia and New Jersey. Both were states President Joe Biden won by a significant margin in the 2020 election, but Virginia elected a Republican governor and New Jersey came surprisingly close to doing the same.

"We intend to protect our incumbents and keep our red states red," Ducey told reporters. "But we've also shown we can win in any state in the country."

Ducey will stay in the position of co-chairman of the RGA next year along with Pete Ricketts of Nebraska.

After the elections in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans are looking to potentially elect new governors in states with Democratic governors where Biden lost or won by a small margin like Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the AP reported.

In Ducey's state, however, Republicans will likely be on the defensive in 2022 because Arizona has become less conservative over the last decade, and the same could be said for Maryland and Massachusetts, both mostly Democratic states currently with Republican governors.

For more reporting from The Associated Press, see below.

Doug Ducey, Republicans, 2022 Elections
Former President Donald Trump watches as Arizona Governor Doug Ducey speaks at a Make America Great Again campaign rally on October 19, 2020 in Prescott, Arizona. Ducey recently said at the Republican Governors Association's annual... Caitlin O'Hara/Getty Images

Ducey leads the RGA at a time when Republicans are ascendant and see Democrats as weighed down by Biden.

Meanwhile, the campaign to replace Ducey has gotten an unusually early start, particularly on the Republican side as former television anchor Kari Lake has energized the GOP base and wrangled an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

Ducey predicted it will be "a very spirited cycle" but declined to weigh in on the crowded field, saying he's been focused on the Virginia campaign.

"I'm going to care very much about who my successor is," Ducey told reporters. "I'll have more focus and more to say on what's happening in Arizona as the campaign unfolds. I'm not gonna say anything at this time."

Ducey has personal experience in what can happen when a governor delays announcing an endorsement for a successor. In 2014, when he was locked in a tight six-way GOP primary and neck and neck with former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, Ducey benefited from then-Gov. Jan Brewer's dithering. By the time she endorsed Smith just 19 days before the primary election and a week after ballot were mailed, Ducey had nailed down his party win.

Ducey has stayed out of the race for U.S. Senate despite public and private entreaties from heavy hitters including Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, who is overseeing the GOP's recruitment and fundraising efforts for Senate races. He was questioned repeatedly this week about the Senate race but said he's not running.

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