By
Outgoing Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz., endorsed Karrin Taylor Robson over former President Donald Trump's choice, a move that intensifies the heated GOP primary aimed at replacing Ducey.
The governor is supporting Taylor Robson, a former Arizona Board of Regent, over the Trump-backed Kari Lake, a former Phoenix news anchor.
“There’s only one great candidate for governor this year, Karrin Taylor Robson, and I'm proud to support her. There are no surprises with Karrin. She’s a lifelong conservative Republican who got her start working for President Ronald Reagan,” Ducey said in a recorded video endorsement of Taylor Robson.
"Karrin is the real deal: Pro-life, pro-gun and pro-wall. And she'll stand up to Joe Biden and the radical left."
Ducey’s endorsement is notable not just because he's the sitting governor, but because he also serves as the chair of the Republican Governors Association and has previously avoided wading into open GOP gubernatorial primaries across the country.
But Lake, Taylor Robson’s primary opponent, has made the race personal, frequently attacking Ducey over his certification of the state’s 2020 presidential election results and his handling of COVID restrictions in the state.
“When we needed a strong leader during Covid, I didn’t see a strong leader in our governor’s office,” Lake said in a gubernatorial debate last week.
Trump also repeatedly attacked Ducey over his decision to certify the 2020 election.
Trump campaigned in Arizona earlier this year on behalf of Lake, who has said she would work to ‘decertify’ the state’s 2020 election results and then prosecute individuals who she claims to be behind the conspiracy.
“Donald Trump is endorsing us because he knows we refuse to turn a blind eye to this election of 2020. We are not going to sweep this one under the rug,” Lake said last November. “I would love to see people in handcuffs. And I want a long perp walk so we can watch them all walk. We need to lock these people up.”
Ducey won his re-election bid for governor in Arizona in 2018 by more than 14%.
In a statement on Thursday, Taylor Robson wrote: “Gov. Ducey has been a strong conservative leader who has trimmed government, gotten our fiscal house in order and turned Arizona into a beacon of economic opportunity. As governor, I intend to build on that legacy.”
County elections officials are sending mail-in ballots to voters, this week, ahead of the state’s August 2 primary.
