Buz Mills suspends bid for governor

Yavapai County businessman's exit gives Brewer virtual lock on GOP nomination

by Ginger Rough - Jul. 14, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

Yavapai County businessman Buz Mills suspended his gubernatorial campaign Tuesday, a move that all but clears the way for Gov. Jan Brewer to win the Republican nomination next month.

Mills' decision to drop out of the contest comes less than a week after state Treasurer Dean Martin suspended his campaign, and leaves political newcomer Matt Jette of Apache Junction as Brewer's lone foe in what was once a hotly contested GOP primary.

Mills ended his aggressive bid for the Governor's Office after spending a whopping $3.2 million on the effort - most of it his own money.

In a statement Tuesday, Mills said he is exiting the contest because Senate Bill 1070, the state's tough new immigration law, had become a dominant topic in the gubernatorial race, rather than issues such as the state budget and the economy.

The economic-based issues are what drew him into the campaign in the first place, Mills said.

"My goal was to offer a clear alternative to career politicians who were running on higher taxes and more spending," Mills said in his statement. "Under normal circumstances, strong fiscal conservatives do well in Republican primary contests. I liked my chances.

"Unfortunately, these aren't normal circumstances."

Camilla Strongin, Mills' campaign manager, said Tuesday that the decision was one that had been made over the past few weeks, as Mills and key members of his staff analyzed polling and other factors.

"This is a self-funded campaign, (and) at some point, you have to make a decision, and this decision led us to this day," Strongin said. "We've looked at it over the past few weeks, looked at what the trend lines are.

"The focus of SB 1070 doesn't seem to be waning."

Brewer signed the immigration bill into law on April 23, and she has since become a national media figure for the anti-illegal immigration movement.

That, coupled with legislative victories here in Arizona, have caused her approval ratings to skyrocket and allowed her to lengthen her lead over her GOP opponents.

In March, a Rasmussen Reports poll suggested that Brewer was in a three-way tie with Martin and Mills. By June, surveys by the same New Jersey-based polling firm indicated that she had 61 percent of the Republican primary vote, compared with Mills' 16 percent and Martin's 12 percent.

Chuck Coughlin, Brewer's campaign manager, said Tuesday that he was surprised by the timing of Martin and Mills' moves, and that while he was pleased by the developments, it was too early for the governor to start celebrating.

"That's a key mistake in any campaign, to presume you can rest," Coughlin said. "That's when you make mistakes.

"We'll continue to run our campaign on the issues that we think are important to Arizona."

Jette, who has never held public office, said he, too, was surprised by the timing of Mills' decision.

But, he said, he is looking forward to the rest of the campaign and challenging the governor on immigration-related issues.

Jette, a self-described moderate who is opposed to SB 1070, said that voters now have a clear choice in the GOP race.

"I want (Brewer) to keep talking about immigration and SB 1070, because I do think it's wrong, and I want people to hear about it," Jette said. "There is a clear distinction. People can see there are two choices and that it's OK to be a Republican and feel (differently) about these issues."

Martin and Mills will still appear on the primary ballot in many, if not all, state counties, elections officials say. Any votes cast for the two candidates will be counted unless they notify the Secretary of State's Office in writing that they are formally withdrawing from the race.

The winner of the GOP primary will face presumptive Democratic nominee Terry Goddard in the general election.

Goddard's campaign alluded to a Brewer-Goddard matchup in November, saying that now the field is clear, "it's time to focus on the future of Arizona."

Earlier in the afternoon, the campaign sent a more lighthearted comment on Twitter: "Game on! 16 weeks to change Arizona."

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