Ducey’s move to endorse Taylor Robson comes as early voting began this week ahead of the Aug. 2 state primary. It also thrusts the governor back into a political showdown with Trump in a two-year conflict over campaign lies about Arizona’s election system. Trump has endorsed Lake, a flashy first-time candidate and former Phoenix TV anchor who is a leading proponent of lies about the results of the 2020 election. By choosing to endorse Taylor Robson, Ducey is throwing away his important policy force in Arizona behind Lake’s strongest challenger. “Governor Ducey has been a strong conservative leader who has reduced government, put our fiscal house in order and turned Arizona into a beacon of economic opportunity,” Taylor Robson said in the news release. “As Governor, I intend to build on that legacy.” Trump launched a public and sustained attack on Ducey shortly after the November 2020 election, in which Trump lost Arizona to Joe Biden. Ducey defended his state’s election process, tweeting: “This is the law. I took an oath to uphold it and I take my responsibility seriously.” Trump responded by making baseless accusations of voter fraud and then blasting statement after statement in a sustained, months-long attack on Ducey for following the state’s laws. Ducey, courted by national Republicans to run for the U.S. Senate as a challenger to incumbent Democrat Mark Kelly, has decided not to run. Despite Trump’s ire, Ducey has remained a popular figure in Arizona among moderates and establishment Republicans, even as the former President maintains a strong hold on the Arizona GOP base. Ducey has argued with Lake publicly during the primary. After Lake criticized the governor for not being strong enough on the US-Mexico border, Ducey fired back, telling the Arizona Republic that the candidate was “making things up.” Ducey has longstanding ties to Taylor Robson, having appointed her to the Arizona Board of Regents in 2017. Last week, Taylor Robson won the endorsement of former U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, a day after he ended his bid for the nomination GOP governor.
