Gov. Doug Ducey and the politics of reopening Arizona

Since his first press briefing March 2 to extending the statewide stay-at-home order April 29, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has filled a momentous, and at times controversial, timeline of actions regarding the new coronavirus.

His incremental progressions have evoked bold responses from constituents, business owners and political leaders on both sides of the aisle; and his administration's decisions to cut off data from university researchers modeling state-specific COVID-19 case projections has led to national scrutiny and a swift reversal.

Dissent from all angles has rendered impossible a scenario in which the governor can take action without accounting for political consequence.

This week on The Gaggle, an Arizona politics podcast, national political reporters Yvonne Wingett Sanchez and Ronald J. Hansen parse the messy web of politics that has affected Gov. Ducey's decision making. Joining the hosts are Arizona Repubilc reporters Maria Polletta and Ryan Randazzo.

In this episode, you'll hear: 

• Who's advising Ducey and what political calculations he has to make
• Possible reasons why the Ducey administration has sidelined university experts studying COVID-19 
• The implications of Ducey's actions on other Arizona GOP contenders

Audio in this episode was collected from Channel 3, Channel 15, The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, Thomas Hawthorne and David Wallace.

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