Arizona Governor Race Gets More Crowded

Uncertainty About Jan Brewer’s Eligibility to Run for Re-Election Draws Contenders From Across the Political Spectrum.

The prospect that Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer could be deemed ineligible for re-election has opened the door to a flood of candidates hoping to succeed her, from a conservative Republican to a Democrat.

Ms. Brewer, a Republican, was appointed to a partial first term and then elected to a second. State law prohibits more than two terms, and a court would have to rule on her eligibility if she were to seek re-election.

On Tuesday, Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett threw his hat into the ring for the governor’s seat. Mr. Bennett, a Mormon who experts say is popular among conservatives, joins a crowded field of candidates vying to lead the independently minded border state, whose politics in recent years have been synonymous with its tough immigration crackdown.

While the state was firmly in Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s camp in the latest presidential election, and a Republican candidate is favored to succeed Ms. Brewer, political experts say a centrist Democratic candidate has a chance. Democrats in Arizona are outnumbered by both registered Republicans and independents, but the state’s congressional delegation is mixed, and voters elected Democrat Janet Napolitano as governor in 2002.

The Republican primary, set for Aug. 26, is expected to be closely watched. Political observers are casting it as a three-way contest between Mr. Bennett; state Treasurer Doug Ducey, formerly chief executive of Cold Stone Creamery, an ice-cream-shop chain based in Scottsdale; and Christine Jones, a political novice who is a former executive and general counsel of Internet-domain-name website GoDaddy Group Inc., also based in Scottsdale.

The Democrats appear to have cleared the field for Fred Duval, a former Clinton administration official.

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