Politics Explained

The fightback against Donald Trump in Arizona

Steve Bannon has called the governor race in the state the ‘purest in the country for showing Maga versus the Republican establishment’, writes Chris Stevenson

Sunday 10 July 2022 16:30 EDT

A defeat for his chosen candidate would take a chunk out of the former president’s political capital (AP)

It is Donald Trump – and his supporters – against the world. This is the way the former president has always styled his political career, and it shows no sign of changing as Trump tries to keep hold of his influence over the Republican Party ahead of another potential White House run in 2024.

The latest battlefield for the GOP establishment versus Trump is the Arizona governor’s race. The state’s current governor, Doug Ducey, announced on Thursday that he was backing Karrin Taylor Robson in the Republican primary – which is set for 2 August – over Kari Lake, who is supported by Trump. Lake, a former TV anchor, has questioned the result of the 2020 election, in which Trump was beaten by current president Joe Biden. Lake called it “disqualifying” and “sickening” when her rival candidate failed to show support for the false claim, promoted by Trump, that the election was stolen.

Ducey’s announcement means that the governor race in Arizona is the third swing-state primary – following those in Georgia and Pennsylvania – in which establishment Republicans have sought to go against Trump and his candidacy pick. Trump is still extremely popular in Arizona, with three out of four likely Republican voters in the state viewing him favourably, but whether figures like this can translate into actual wins at the ballot box is a question that is increasingly asked by sections of the Republican Party.

“The Arizona governor’s primary is the purest race in the country for showing Maga [Make America Great Again – Trump’s first election slogan] versus the Republican establishment,” Steve Bannon, a former Trump adviser in the White House, told NBC News. “This is a proxy war on, really, 2024.”

Trump is clearly still intent on raking over the coals of the 2020 election, seemingly unable to let it go. However, a defeat for his chosen candidate in the Republican primary in Arizona would certainly take a chunk out of the former president’s political capital. Taylor Robson’s campaign appears confident of more endorsements. Ducey’s backing may not be a game-changing shift in a close race, but it opens the door for other establishment Republican figures to throw their weight behind Taylor Robson, who is currently behind Lake in the polls.