PHOENIX — Doug Ducey walked away with the Republican nomination for governor Tuesday, beating out five other contenders including one endorsed by Gov. Jan Brewer.
And today he starts the chore of uniting the party after a particularly divisive and expensive primary in which he won the right to take on Democrat Fred DuVal in the November general election.
Despite an endorsement by Brewer, former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith trailed badly in second place, having been vastly outspent by Ducey.
But money was not the deciding issue, as former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones also came up short despite putting $5.3 million of her own cash into the race.
Secretary of State Ken Bennett, former California Congressman Frank Riggs and disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas were never really in the running, outspent by the other three.
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But the heated campaign — including attacks on the other five contenders by Thomas — means Ducey starts with the backing of less than half the party faithful. While votes remain to be counted, Ducey maintained a healthy 15-point lead over his closest challenger as each new batch of ballots was counted.
The rancorous campaign means a lot of venom will have to be swallowed, and replaced with smiles all around, if the Republicans are to maintain their hold on the governor’s office being vacated by Brewer.
Waiting in the wings is DuVal, who had no primary opposition and is hoping to take advantage of the splintered GOP in a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 175,000.
But the real balance of power could be held by the 1.15 million ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ns who have not affiliated with any of the four recognized parties.
DuVal already is angling for cross-party votes in November, releasing his first commercial Tuesday featuring former Republican Attorney General Grant Woods.
While Ducey has more experience in public office, having been elected treasurer four years ago, DuVal has been more of a bureaucrat going back to his days in the administration of Gov. Bruce Babbitt, followed by stints in the Clinton White House and as chairman of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Board of Regents.
His lone political outing was a dozen years ago when, living in Flagstaff, he finished fourth in a seven-way Democratic congressional primary.
Tuesday’s vote was in some ways a referendum on Brewer’s legacy.
The outgoing governor took the unusual step of interceding in the Republican primary, most notably with her endorsement of Smith, whom she viewed as the obvious heir to what she believes is her legacy. In particular, that included Smith’s support of expansion of the state’s Medicaid program and backing of the Common Core education standards.
But Brewer went deeper, backing handpicked candidates for secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general — the last supporting a challenge to an incumbent Republican.
And she also waded into legislative races across the state, providing both personal and financial support to lawmakers who supported Medicaid expansion as well as backing some challengers to GOP lawmakers who did not.
Brewer was noncommittal Tuesday about the chances she would provide the same kind of personal backing — and money from ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Legacy, her political action committee, to do the same for those who won but were not part of her slate of candidates.
“You know, it depends on the time that I have available, certainly, and if they want me involved,†she said.
That latter caveat leaves a lot of questions, particularly as some of those who won were especially critical of Brewer and her policies.
And the governor dismissed the fact she actively sought the defeat of some in her own party who won anyway.
The governor also had no answer about what the results — and the failure of some of the candidates she backed — mean about the importance ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ns place on her endorsements.
“I guess that’s up to the public,†she said.
“If they win, I would hope that people agreed with me,†Brewer continued. “If they don’t, well, then we all come together for the Republican ticket.â€
And that, she said, includes her.
“That’s what it is,†she said. “We’re the party of the ‘big tent.’â€