Gov. Jan Brewer is going to use money she’s raised from donors inside and outside the state to help elect Scott Smith as her successor. Arizona Public Radio’s Howard Fischer reports.
Brewer has put together a state political action committee. Dubbed Arizona’s Legacy, it allows her to spend money to back candidates of her choice for statewide and legislative office as long as she does it independent of their campaigns. At last report she had more than $600,000 in the bank.
“Well, you know, I’ve got a little nest egg that we have budgeted. And I hope to be able to go out and raise some more money and encouraging people to contribute to the Legacy account so we’ll have plenty to continue with our endeavors to make sure that he’s elected the next governor of the great state of Arizona,” Gov. Brewer said.
Brewer already has spent more than $100,000 on behalf of Republican lawmakers who voted to support her Medicaid expansion plan and now find themselves facing primary challenges. But Brewer said she also will spend PAC money to help those who are challenging incumbent Republicans who have opposed her on key issues, like Medicaid, and protect it from repeal.
“We know moving forward that it’ll be questioned and things will be tweaked. But I want to be sure that the people that are in place have a good understanding of what it is and that they’re able to grasp what it is and what it means when you govern. And I believe these people have all those qualities,” Gov. Brewer said.
