Democrat Fred DuVal files for Arizona governor's race
PHOENIX -- Democrat Fred DuVal on Thursday filed more than twice the number of signatures needed to qualify for the Arizona governor's race.
DuVal prepares a campaign he hopes will return a Democrat to the state's top elected office for the first time in six years.
The former member of the Arizona Board of Regents filed more than 10,000 qualifying signatures he said were collected from voters by volunteers in all 15 counties.
DuVal faces no serious competition for the Democratic nomination in the August primary, so he'll likely face the winner of what is shaping up as a seven-way primary fight among Republican candidates. Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is term-limited and said in March she would not fight a constitutional battle to seek another term.
The 59-year-old said he plans to campaign on his belief that the state needs to change direction. He said he'll push to restore cuts to education he contends have been devastating and expand job opportunities for working families.
"I'm about solutions, I'm about change, I'm about a vision for Arizona that expands opportunity, increases the quality of our jobs and increases our educational quality," DuVal told reporters. "And that is a message which talks to Republican, Democrats and independents alike."
The Republican primary is shaping up as a slug-fest between candidates that have been scrambling to scratch out a leading position in a crowded field. Only two Republicans have filed signatures so far to qualify for the ballot, Secretary of State Ken Bennett and former GoDaddy executive Christine Jones.
Candidates have until May 28 to file more than 5,600 signatures needed to get on the Republican primary ballot.
The other GOP candidates include state Treasurer Doug Ducey, former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, state Sen. Al Melvin, former Congressman Frank Riggs and former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
DuVal served as a top aide and adviser to Bruce Babbitt both during Babbitt's terms as Arizona governor in the late 1970s and the 1980s and his unsuccessful campaign for the 1988 Democratic nomination for president. He served in President Bill Clinton's administration and was appointed by then-Gov. Janet Napolitano to the Board of Regents. The Tucson native also worked in private business.
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Democrat Fred DuVal files for Arizona governor's race