PHOENIX – Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey endorsed controversial Republican Senate nominee Kari Lake and former President Donald Trump on Tuesday despite spitting with both over claims of 2020 election fraud.
He also endorsed former President Donald Trump — and Republicans up and down the ballot.
“Much is on the line this election year & I’m encouraging all eligible Arizonans to vote & prioritize the issues that most affect our state & nation,” Ducey tweeted.
“I will be voting for Republicans up & down the ballot in November — and both Donald Trump and Kari Lake have my endorsement.”
Ducey noted that he has not always seen eye to eye with Lake and Trump.
In the 2020 election, Trump and Ducey split over the then-governor’s decision to certify the election results, famously not answering his phone call as he filled out the documents.
“Differences aside, there is too much on the line and only a Republican in the White House and a majority in the House and US Senate can ensure it,” he later stated in the thread.
During the 2022 election, then-gubernatorial candidate Lake criticized Ducey on some policies including the 2020 election issues — and she referred to her former primary opponent Karrin Taylor Robson as “Doug Ducey in a dress.”
The two later appeared to put their differences behind them, and Robson endorsed Lake following her primary win last month.
However, there seems to be much more agreement on the issues than disagreement between Ducey and the two candidates.
The two-term governor told the Post last week that he believes the border was under better control during the Trump administration. He also touted his Arizona and Georgia-focused group, Citizens for Free Enterprise, which aims to reach business-minded voters.
“The political discussion is deeply divided. It’s highly focused on personalities, and we want to talk about a principle, free enterprise, and the policies that support it,” he told the Post at the time.
The endorsements from the two-term governor earned a mix of praise and flack on social media.
“Doug Ducey supports me because he knows it’s never been more important to unite all Arizonans and win big in November,” Lake tweeted, praising him on the economy.
Meanwhile, others were less enthused with the endorsements.
“’Differences.’ Trump wanted Republicans dead,” commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted.
“The worst Arizona Governor in decades endorses the worst president in American history who tried to overthrow our elections. Ducey still refuses to stand up for democracy and the rule of law,” former Arizona Democratic Party Vice Chair Michael Slugocki tweeted. “Pathetic.”
The endorsement comes as the campaigns for both Vice President Harris and Rep. Ruben Gallego launched Republican coalitions, and Lake touted a Democrat coalition last week. The push to court moderate Republican and Democratic voters, as well as registered Independents, is becoming a cornerstone of the 2024 campaign in Arizona.
