This is the Reason interview with Nicholasby. Thanks for listening. I have a special treat for you today.

Reason editor-in-chief Catherine Mangu Ward interviews former two-term Arizona governor Doug Deucey,

the recipient of this year's Savas Award for Privatization, given annually by the Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that

publishes this podcast. Here is the Reason interview with Doug Deucy. Thank you for joining us,

governor. We're excited to talk with you here at Reason today. Good to be here. Good and thanks for

having me. Let's start just right into it. Arizona politicians are kind of built different.

What is it about Arizona that seems to just generate a little bit of a kind of heterodox or unorthodox politician, would you say?

I don't know. I think it's a good question. I think maybe the fact that we're the youngest state in the lower 48, that were a place where so many people came to live, so few people that are there today were actually born there. So people make that decision. And then I think there's something about the West and the

spirit of Barry Goldwater where it brings an independent mindedness to it.

Arizona has been red of late, but it's trending blue. What do you attribute that to?

Candidates matter. I would actually push back pretty hard on where it is.

I was able to win in 2014 with the wind at my back and win by a larger margin in 2018 with the wind in my face.

What was really a tough year for conservatives and Republicans around the country.

And I was also able to capture 44% of the Hispanic vote against an opponent named David Garcia.

So if you have the right candidate who's talking about common sense kitchen table issues

and actually persuading the electorate, I think the state is still a center-right state.

If you have somebody that wants to come and re-litigate 2020 and only speak to the base,

that's a losing message.

You campaigned in your first campaign on bringing taxes in Arizona as close as possible

to zero.

And you got to 2.5% flat tax in the end.

How did you do that?

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