Arizona Governor Doug Ducey at Midterms 2022: What's at Stake - The Statehouses

Rob Schumacher// The Republic

Georgetown University’s Copley Formal Hall quickly filled up on Tuesday September 13, 2022 as Arizona Governor Doug Ducey conversed with GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee (SFS ’94) to discuss his role as the President of the Republican Governors Association and what the United States should be expecting in the upcoming 2022 midterm elections on the first night of the Two-Night forum event “Midterms 2022: What's at Stake - The Statehouses.”

The discussion started with an overview of what Governor Ducey’s role is as President of the Republican Governors Association (RGA). Ducey noted that as RGA President, he is tasked with assisting in electing Republican Governors and that the RGA has been “the most successful national political operation in the nation over the last two decades” with 28 sitting Republican Governors today, listing off examples like Maryland Governor Larry Hogan and Vermont Governor Phil Sanders. With successes such as these, Governor Ducey emphasized voter attention to governor’s races where voters are willing to “cross over to pick someone who they think will be the superior leader.”

Elleithee then asked Governor Ducey to elaborate on why young people should vote for Republican governors as the elections are approaching. Ducey referred to how Republican governors responded to the COVID-19 crisis, stating that “If it weren't for Republican governors in this country, the entire country would have been shut down indefinitely. It was Republican Governors who balanced lives or I should say prioritized livelihoods and individual liberties.” He then reflects on his own record as the Arizona governor, stating that under his eight years as governor, Arizona is one of the fastest growing States in the nation and that the state has lowered taxes “so we allow you when you go out and work hard to keep more of your own money.” He then also refers to recent increased funding in K-12 education in Arizona as well as an alleged decrease in crime.

Expanding on the importance of gubernatorial races, Elleithee and Ducey discuss what the important voters’ issues for gubernatorial races are, to which Ducey responds that while there are different priorities each state race must focus on, one common theme is the “cost of everyday life,” emphasizing the importance of the labor economy and the struggles of current inflation. Ducey then turns the conversation to the Southern border, and says that “every state is a border state” now. Ducey criticizes the Biden administration’s lack of action regarding the Southern border, specifically naming “border czar” Vice President Harris and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, citing issues such as a rising fentanyl crisis and lack of federal communication. Elleithee then brings attention to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade and how this will impact women's reproductive health and rights nationwide, to which Ducey responds he is “proudly pro-life” and states that successful Republican platforms will promote a platform that would allegedly not harm women or women’s health.

Ducey then gives an overview of upcoming key races, noting gubernatorial races like Wisconsin, Georgia, Maine, Oregon, Connecticut, New Mexico and Rhode Island. Ducey and Elleithee then focus specifically on the Oregon, Pennsylvania and Georgia races, which both agree can be some of the most interesting races of the upcoming midterm elections where the Republican party could possibly win the gubernatorial race in the traditionally blue state. When Elleithee asks about Arizona, Ducey responds “Well because Arizona is a red State and it's going to stay red.” On the federal level, Arizona currently has 2 Democratic Senators in office and 5 out of 9 Democratic House of Representatives Members. On the state level, the Republican Party controls the governorship, both chambers of the state legislature, and the office of attorney general, while the Democratic Party controls the office of secretary of state. Elleithee’s final question focused on what the Democratic Governors Association and the Republican Governors Association should be the most worried about according to Ducey’s perspective. Ducey points out that Democrats should be concerned about the White House and the Biden Administration as inflation rises and jokes that he’ll come back November 9th to discuss the other side of the issue. 

Following the moderated discussion, Ducey answered questions from Georgetown University students, many of whom were from Arizona. Questions ranged from ongoing police violence in Arizona to the details of gubernatorial interstate bipartisanship to voting equity to Arizona’s recent policy of bussing migrants from the Southern border to Washington D.C. Elleithee and Governor Ducey finished by thanking all students for attending.

Check out the rest of GU Politics Executive Director Mo Elleithee’s conversation with Arizona Governor Doug Ducey here:

Srishti Khemka is a senior in the School of Foreign Service from Scottsdale, Arizona studying Science, Technology, and International Affairs and the Co-Executive Editor of On the Record.