Former AZ Gov. Doug Ducey says Harris must be “accountable for” border policies

PHOENIX – Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is registering voters in Arizona and Georgia, sounding the alarm over Vice President Kamala Harris’ border and economic policies in the two swing states.

“I laughed out loud when you referred to her as the border czar,” the former governor told The Post in an exclusive interview.

Ducey, whose last two years in office coincided with Biden’s first two years in the White House, has given bad credit to the border administration.

“I have served with three presidents: Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Joe Biden was by far the worst on the border,” adding that the border was in much better shape under the Trump administration.

“Today, the border is wide open and unprotected. Kamala Harris had never been to the border. She had never taken the border issue seriously as a United States Senator or as Vice President,” he continued.

Still, the Harris campaign is promoting a recent executive order from the White House that limited asylum applications as apprehensions at the border began to decline.

But many Republicans say that change has come too little, too late.

“She has never been to the Arizona border until now. And that’s one issue that she failed on… It was all avoidable with attention to the border, and it’s something that Kamala Harris is going to have to answer for in this presidential campaign,” Ducey told The Post.

Across the border, Ducey’s administration was known for its economic reforms, such as lowering the income tax, eliminating business regulations, and balancing the state budget.

As the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, Ducey’s business reputation precedes him, and his passion for free markets has him taking on a new project this election cycle.

Now retired from government, Ducey runs Citizens for Free Enterprise, a pro-business group that works to register voters who care about free-market issues but wouldn’t otherwise be political junkies.

“The political discussion is deeply divided. It’s very focused on personalities, and we want to talk about a principle, free enterprise and the policies that support it,” Ducey said.

The last presidential election came in states like Arizona and Georgia, where Biden won by about 11,000 and 12,000 votes, respectively.

With such margins, targeted voter registration efforts are a plus strategy for political causes.

“Nobody out there is doing what we’re doing,” Ducey said. “Most everyone else is focused on the same people who are very invested, and it’s a turnout game on that side.”

“We’re focusing on the people that everyone else is missing, but they could be game changers in this election when we hire them.”

Ducey added that even in growth states like Arizona, Texas and Tennessee, Americans still face financial hardships like inflation.

“There was a winning playbook for good economic growth and development. But the policies of the Biden administration and this Federal Reserve to pump so much money into the economy have really driven up prices.”

In Arizona, presidential and senatorial campaigns are advancing to influence voters. The Arizona Republican Party opened a field office Monday in hotly contested north Phoenix.

Meanwhile, the Republicans for Harris coalition launched this week with Message Mayor John Giles, a Republican who has endorsed several Democrats in recent elections.

“I think the time has come for us, as Republicans in Arizona, to acknowledge the obvious and start saying the quiet side out loud, which is that our party’s nominee is not qualified for office and that we need to vote adult . in the room, and this is Kamala Harris,” Giles said.

On the Senate side, “Republicans and Independents for Reuben” has also been launched, and Republican Kari Lake is expected to announce a coalition of Democrats and former Democrats to back her candidacy later this week.