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Doug Ducey has a lock on the Republican primary race for Arizona governor, judging from early results that show him trouncing his closest contender.
With about one third of voting precincts reporting statewide at 9 p.m., Ducey had 36.7 percent of the vote compared to 23 percent for former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith and 15.4 for former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones.
The winner of tonight’s race will go on to face Democrat Fred DuVal in the November general election.
See also:
–Doug Ducey’s Record at Cold Stone Creamery Again on Blast
Recent polls had shown Ducey in the lead over Smith, with both pulling away from Jones. Early results show Ducey had more momentum than many — including Governor Jan Brewer, who endorsed Smith — might have expected.
The other three GOP candidates for governor were trailing even farther behind, with Ken Bennett receiving about 11 percent of the vote and Frank Riggs and Andrew Thomas in single digits.
Smith was reportedly preparing to announce his defeat.
At the GOP’s primary party at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Phoenix, former Congressman Matt Salmon told party-goers to “get behind Doug Ducey and to do everything we can to get him elected governor.”
Ducey is expected to speak shortly, and we’ll update this post when he does.
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Follow Ray Stern on Twitter at @RayStern.
