Gov. Ducey: I like and want to continue being the governor of Arizona
Oct 26, 2017, 8:25 AM | Updated: 11:21 am
PHOENIX — When U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake shocked the state of Arizona on Tuesday and announced he would not be running for re-election, a popular name immediately mentioned was current governor Doug Ducey.
The governor’s chief of staff responded to a tweet that he would not join the race based on the Flake announcement but he himself had not spoken.
Thursday, Ducey joined KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News and explained why he would not be entertaining a Senate run at this time.
“I don’t know why anyone would want to go to Washington D.C., when they can be the governor of Arizona and live and work in Arizona,” Ducey told the show. “I like being the governor, I want to be the governor, I want to continue being the governor.”
Ducey took office in 2015 and has primarily focused on making the state a better place for businesses and improving education.
“I do think being a governor is the best job in politics,” Ducey said. “If there is a good job in politics, it’s being the governor. You are a chief executive, you get to set an agenda for your state.
“In a place like Arizona, where people want to be focused on improving our K-12 education system, actually having a government that works and living in a state they are proud of.”
Questions have also begun to circulate about the future of Arizona’s other senator, John McCain, who was diagnosed with brain cancer in July. Should he leave his seat before his term ends, Ducey would be required to appoint someone to take his seat until the next election.
“I haven’t given thought to who I would appoint,” Ducey said of the potential decision. “I think John McCain is the toughest man in the United States Senate, he is the senior senator from the great state of Arizona and he and I are going to work on everything we can.
“That’s the situation today and what I want to do is honor and respect his service, not only to the United States Senate but to our country. Whatever circumstance we have in the future, we’ll deal with.”
