Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey declared in January 2021 that he was \u201c100 percent<\/a>\u201d focused on his current job and uninterested in a bid for Senate. But speculation among state political insiders that Ducey is plotting a late entry into the Senate race has escalated in recent weeks \u2014 a development that would scramble a contest that is pivotal to the battle for the Senate majority.<\/p>\n The term-limited Republican governor, now in his last year of office, has not said anything publicly that suggests he has changed his mind. The Aug. 2 GOP primary to take on Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly is well underway as state Attorney General Mark Brnovich, venture capitalist Blake Masters, solar power executive Jim Lamon and state emergency leader Mick McGuire compete for the nomination, a race that has already generated millions of dollars in Republican ad spending.<\/p>\n Ducey\u2019s final State of the State address on Monday, however, left the Arizona State Capitol Complex abuzz after the governor used the speech to repeatedly criticize the federal government. His address included six mentions of Washington, D.C., along with sustained attacks on President Joe Biden and his administration \u2014 the kind of broadsides more likely to come from a candidate for federal office than a governor outlining his final state legislative agenda.<\/p>\n To many Arizona Republicans, he didn\u2019t sound like a man who believes his political career is winding down this year.<\/p>\n National Republicans have continued to hold out hope<\/a> that the governor would reconsider his decision. Ducey has won statewide office three times, including as state treasurer. He also has across-the-board name recognition and a well-oiled campaign infrastructure. Just as important, as Kelly starts the year with nearly $20 million on hand, Ducey has honed his fundraising skills and amassed a network of national donors after serving the last year as chair of the Republican Governors Association.<\/p>\n \u201cThese are all the kinds of metrics that the professional watchers look for in a prospective candidate, and he checks every box,\u201d said Kirk Adams, Ducey\u2019s former chief of staff. \u201cJust because he can do it doesn\u2019t mean he will do it.\u201d<\/p>\n In the last several months, Ducey has brought on four new staffers who previously worked for Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake, including two who were state directors, according to a POLITICO review of the governor\u2019s office\u2019s staff announcements.<\/p>\n Ducey\u2019s campaign spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment for this story, <\/p>\n With a filing deadline of April 4 to collect and submit thousands of petition signatures, Ducey doesn\u2019t have much longer to decide. A Ducey for Senate announcement, if it comes, would likely take place by the end of February, according to a source familiar with the governor\u2019s circle.<\/p>\n Former President Donald Trump looms as a powerful force in the race. Trump, who has a rally scheduled Saturday in Phoenix, has made Ducey a frequent target of abuse, criticizing him over the last year for his refusal to embrace election fraud conspiracies. In June, the former president said that the Ducey \u201ccould not get the nomination\u201d for Senate, if he ran.<\/p>\n Despite endorsing in the state\u2019s 2022 gubernatorial and secretary of state races, Trump has yet to get behind anyone in the Senate primary, where Brnovich, the current frontrunner, has struggled to command a significant lead as nearly half of primary voters remain undecided, according to recent polling.<\/p>\n Like Ducey, Brnovich has faced Trump\u2019s ire for not seeking to overturn Biden\u2019s Arizona victory. The two statewide Republicans who were first elected to their posts in 2014, however, have a frosty relationship dating back years, and have not worked particularly closely together while in office.<\/p>\n