Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has his first serious challenger in his 2018 re-election bid with the announcement that Democrat David Garcia will seek his party's nomination next year.
Garcia is an Arizona State University professor and former assistant superintendent with the Department of Education. The 47-year-old lost a tight race for Superintendent of Public Instruction to Republican Diane Douglas in 2014.
He said Wednesday that Ducey has failed the state's public school children by signing a massive expansion of the state's private school voucher program.
Democratic state Sen. Steve Farley is also considering a challenge to Ducey. Political unknown Noah Dyer has also announced a long-shot bid for the Democratic nomination.
On Tuesday, Ducey said campaign seasons are far too long and he'll talk about it next year.
