AZ-GOV: Ken Bennett, former Secretary of State, to challenge Gov. Doug Ducey in GOP primary
Ken Bennett, who has served as Arizona Secretary of State and president of the state Senate, announced Saturday that he will run against Gov. Doug Ducey in the Republican primary.
Bennett criticized Ducey’s hasty rollout of a plan to raise teacher pay.
Bennett, who ran unsuccessfully against Ducey in the 2014 Republican primary, said he was motivated to run after watching “the panic and flip-flopping of the governor” in announcing a plan to give teachers a 20 percent pay raise by 2020.
Ducey announced his plan two weeks ago, saying he could raise teacher pay by 19 percent over the next three years without raising taxes or making deep cuts to services. Coupled with the 1-percent boost teachers received this year, he said, would make an effective 20-percent raise.
Bennett questioned comments Ducey made in a radio interview two days before announcing his plan. Bennett said Ducey told listeners that the state had no money for the 20-percent raise teachers demanded.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/04/21/ken-bennett-former-secretary-state-challenge-gov-doug-ducey-gop-primary/539325002/
