Former Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer on Donald Trump

Written by

Voters go to the polls in three states today, including Arizona, which is the the third largest winner-take-all state in the GOP race with 58 delegates.

The state’s former governor, Jan Brewer, has endorsed Donald Trump. Brewer, on KCRW’s “Left, Right & Center” last week, called Trump a “listener” and “populist” who “will abide” by conservatives’ wishes for a right-leaning Supreme Court nomination.

“I think he’s a listener and I think he’s a populist and that he understands that the voters out there want a conservative judge,” Brewer said. “Given that scenario and his promises to listen, I think that he would probably find himself in the situation of nominating a qualified, very conservative justice.”

Brewer sees in Trump a success she hopes he can bring to a country afflicted by what she called eight years of failed policy under President Obama. “He certainly couldn’t have become the successful businessman that he has become by not having really smart people around him that he listens to,” Brewer said.

But Trump has alienated many in the GOP. Mitt Romney’s voice was recently lent to robocalls urging Arizona voters to cast their ballots for Sen. Ted Cruz over real estate mogul Donald Trump in that state.

Romney’s robocalls reflect the wave of discontent many in the GOP feel for Trump, who continues to surf on his own popular support, having won 680 delegates of the 1,247 already pledged between himself, Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Despite the best efforts of the former Utah governor and everyone else seeking to thwart him, Trump is ahead in the polls in Arizona, with one poll showing him 14 points ahead of Sen. Ted Cruz among those who cast their early ballots and voters still planning to visit the polls Tuesday.

“I think there probably are two sides to everybody that runs for office and I think that we have seen publicly a side of him — that fighter and scrapper — and people that know him personally or have done business with him realize that he’s a very conscientious, smart leader with great vision and that he is relentless in getting things done and getting them done correctly and successfully,” said Brewer.

Listen to Left Right & Center:

*This post has been corrected an earlier version identified Gov. Rick Scott, who has endorsed Trump as the governor of Arizona. Gov. Scott is the governor of Florida.