Arizona Gov. Ducey promises to finish term, won’t run for Senate in 2020

PHOENIX – Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey won’t talk about a potential successor for U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, but he did promise at least one name won’t be on the ballot in 2020:

Doug Ducey.

“I’m not going to speculate at all about who’s next, but I want you to know that I’m going to serve the four years of my governorship,” Ducey, who won re-election last month, said Monday during his exclusive monthly interview with KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Mac & Gaydos.

“I was elected by the people of Arizona. I made a commitment that the job that I wanted was to be governor, and I plan on being governor for the next four years.”

Great discussion with @MacandGaydos to wrap up our last monthly exclusive of 2018! See you next year! @KTAR923 pic.twitter.com/F2bvcy99Uu

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) December 4, 2018

Ducey appointed Kyl to succeed Sen. John McCain after McCain died in August, but Kyl hasn’t committed to the position beyond this year.

If Kyl steps down, Ducey would appoint a replacement who would hold the office until 2020.

Regardless of whether Kyl or somebody else holds the seat at that time, voters will decide in a special election who will serve out the final two years of McCain’s term.

After Kirk Adams announced last week he would be stepping down as Ducey’s chief of staff, some observers thought the governor might pick Adams to keep the seat warm for him until 2020.

Martha McSally, who lost her U.S. Senate race against Democrat Kyrsten Sinema, also has been mentioned as a potential replacement for Kyl.

By state law, any appointee must be a Republican like McCain.

For now, though, there’s no vacancy, but Ducey said he’ll be prepared should he have to make another pick.

“We’ll know soon enough,” he said. “I’m going to sit down with Sen. Kyl here this December.

“There’s a number of really qualified people. What I would like to do is put the best possible person in there that could serve the state of Arizona.”

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