Mayes nears decision on CD1 run

Republican Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes is just “weeks” away from making a decision on entering the race to fill retiring U.S. Representative Rick Renzi’s District 1 seat, Mayes spokesman Robert Johnson said today.

“I think we’re getting pretty close,” Johnson said.

Johnson said Mayes is trying to determine her political and financial support and her ability to put a campaign together. She is also talking to elected officials across the district and people who, Johnson said, would “execute the mechanics” of the campaign.

Mayes is also raising money as part of the exploratory committee she launched in February.

“It looks good,” Johnson said of the fundraising efforts.

If Mayes enters the race she will face off against conservative activist Sydney Hay in the Republican primary.

Johnson declined to directly address the possibility of a Mayes-Hay race. But a nudge against Hay was unmistakable.

“The simple fact is, Kris is the only candidate who can run for the seat and hold it for Republicans,” he said.

Johnson argued that Mayes brought significant advantages to the campaign, including experience holding statewide office and a thoughtful quality that would prove useful in a large, complex district like CD1 where voters have a variety of interests and concerns.

Mayes and other Republicans running for Congress this cycle face what is widely considered to be a difficult electoral landscape. The GOP has had a series of retirements and the National Republican Congressional Committee trails the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee significantly in fundraising.

But Johnson said Mayes was not deterred.

“Six months is a lifetime. A lot can happen,” he said. “Don’t underestimate the ability of the GOP to rally.”

What could also present difficulties for Mayes is her prior work as a spokeswoman for Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano.

A Republican source said that while Mayes was a potentially viable general election candidate, her work for Napolitano would present a “possible problem” for Mayes in the Republican primary.

But Johnson disagreed, arguing that Mayes was not a key decision-maker for Napolitano and that Republican voters would not hold it against her in a primary.

“If an opponent in a primary wanted to waste their time on that, that would be all the better for Kris Mayes,” Johnson said.