Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey announced Thursday he would not be a candidate for US Senate in 2022, ending speculation about whether he would reconsider his previous stance against seeking the party’s nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly this fall.
In a letter to donors obtained by CNN, Ducey, who is term-limited this year as Arizona governor, said his “mind hasn’t changed” from January 2021, when he initially said he would not run for the Senate. “These days, if you’re going to run for public office, you have to really want the job,” Ducey wrote. “Right now I have the job I want, and my intention is to close my years of service to Arizona with a very productive final legislative session AND to help elect Republican governors across the country in my role as chairman of the Republican Governors Association.” The letter was first reported by The Arizona Republic. A senior adviser to Senate Republicans said Ducey’s letter to supporters closes the door on repeated attempts to recruit him into the Arizona Senate race.
