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Jan Brewer's Bad Debate Moment Doesn't Dent Her Lead in Governor's Race

1 year ago
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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's tongue-tied opening statement in a campaign debate last week earned descriptions that ranged from "cringe-worthy" and "painful" in news accounts, to headlines like "OMG this is so embarrassing" on postings of the video to YouTube. But her halting performance doesn't seem to have helped Democratic opponent Terry Goddard.

A Rasmussen Reports poll, conducted Sept. 7 following nearly a week of negative publicity, put Brewer ahead of Goddard by 60 percent to 38 percent with 2 percent preferring someone else or undecided. That's actually a bit higher than a pre-debate poll by Rasmussen in late August that had Brewer ahead by 57 percent to 38 percent.

The poll said 47 percent of voters had followed the stories about the debate very closely and another 38 percent say they had done so "somewhat closely."

While the stumble didn't help Goddard, it did apparently raise a noticeable level of concern with 48 percent of voters saying the performance would be very or somewhat important in their decision, compared to 51 percent who said it would not.
Terry Goddard, Jan Brewer
Brewer, who had been in deep political trouble last year, including with members of her own party, revived this year, largely on the strength of her anti-immigration stand and the new law cracking down on illegal immigrants she signed last April. Goddard oppose the law.

She gets a 91 percent level of support from fellow Republicans and attracts 20 percent of the Democratic vote, while Goddard is backed by 79 percent of Democrats.



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36 Comments

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jhfg211

I don't think the debate will hurt Governer Brewer at all. I don't suspect that people in Arizona are all that interested in debate anyway. I am thinking that her "anti-immigration" message came through loud and clear despite her gaffes. She probably expresses the fears of many of the voters in her state. Many other successful politicians also have played on fear to further their political agenda. Jesse Helms, George Wallace and some fellow from Austria come to mind.

September 08 2010 at 6:06 PM Report abuse +5 rate up rate down Reply
Dorthy

I think this speaks to the fact that people are sick and tired of these got you smoke screens on both sides. It has become down right ridiculous.

September 08 2010 at 6:05 PM Report abuse +3 rate up rate down Reply
flyingfortresb17

so she had a little bad moment. it is not going t hurt her. it does show that she is human and not a political robot. Any govenor with an ounce of honesty would come out and do what she has done for Arizona and try to protect her state and the employees within it. The coward of a Deputy who sued the state and was told he did not have standing should have been given the choice of resigning or offering a public apology to the state. We have Govenors from New Mexico and California who recognize they have a porous border and need help but refuse to act responsibly to theor legal voters. MAy she win the war.

September 08 2010 at 5:32 PM Report abuse +7 rate up rate down Reply
bch32233

Just goes to show how brain washed the tea baggers are!!!!!

September 08 2010 at 4:50 PM Report abuse -18 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to bch32233's comment
dc walker

......the tea baggers also hate that the justice dpt brought suit against a state for protecting themselves from invaders. They also hate the fact that the White House filed a complaint with the United Nations Commission of Human Rights of which Libya and Cuba will judge Arizona. The fact that the White House couldn't handle an internal problem and wait for a Supreme court decision and turned it over to an international body will be on their mind come election day.

September 08 2010 at 6:00 PM Report abuse +6 rate up rate down Reply
usrt66

No reason why a minor gaffe should have hurt her. Shows she is human and not a machine. Besides she does the "right" thing and she does it well. There are some so called National Politicians who could learn from Governor Brewer as to how to be a good leader. You hear that Mr O!

September 08 2010 at 4:40 PM Report abuse +21 rate up rate down Reply
Fred Thomas

Why not write about the number of Cabinet people and government executives that will get rich if, and only if, the Sheriff can get permission to lock up multitudes of claimed illegal aliens in the private "for profit" jails in Arizona. I unders there is only one jail (1st degree felons) in Arizona that is not a private profit making corporation. Please tell us who the stockholders are, who are the Board Members, etc. Only then, can you understand the politics of it.

September 08 2010 at 3:58 PM Report abuse +2 rate up rate down Reply
Margaret

She lied about the "headless bodies" in the Arizona desert. She lied about balancing the state budget. And she completely ignores questions from the press about the ties between herself, her campaign staff and others in the state legislature to CCA, the private prison system that stands to make BILLIONS from rounding up "people not like us" in the immigration scam known as SB 1070. Anyone not white can be asked for proof of their citizenship (like any U.S. citizen carries around their birth certificate or passport everywhere they go), and if they can't produce it, they are thrown in jail until they can. It's disgusting how the old white people in this moronic backwards state are letting their bigotry and hatred flow like the sand in a windstorm to put this state back into the 1950s. Disgusting.

September 08 2010 at 3:48 PM Report abuse -21 rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Margaret's comment
lesturgill

So, just move to California if you don't like Arizona. Nancy Pelosi will love you.

September 08 2010 at 4:01 PM Report abuse +27 rate up rate down Reply
joe

You would know....

September 08 2010 at 5:43 PM Report abuse -3 rate up rate down Reply
Hello Eileen

May God bless Governor Brewer. She values the Constitution and her state more than this patriotically lame administration.

September 08 2010 at 3:43 PM Report abuse +28 rate up rate down Reply
nanc the great

brewerand 2012

September 08 2010 at 3:19 PM Report abuse +18 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to nanc the great's comment
pgbrooke

Now that's funny! Thanks for the laugh.

September 08 2010 at 4:16 PM Report abuse +1 rate up rate down Reply
flagag

this lady is an american hero...just like sheriff joe......the obama presidency is proving to be even more invasive into the private lives of citizens than we could ever imagine.......people of arizona don't care if she had a bad momnent. she has done a fine job representing their best interests and they appreciate it. she will trounce her opponent in november. flagag

September 08 2010 at 3:06 PM Report abuse +29 rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to flagag's comment
Ms. Corrine

flagag: Apparently you don't know what a hero is, let alone an American hero.

September 08 2010 at 5:32 PM Report abuse -5 rate up rate down Reply

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