Tonight 12 News going one-on-one
with Arizona's 22nd Governor,
Jan Brewer Brewer, also the
fourth woman to hold the office.
Earlier today, Brewer sat down
with Team 12 Tramite to talk
about the state of politics,
the elections in our country and Arizona.
Guys, Jan Brewer has always
been open and candid.
When she was governor from 2009
to 2015, and she still is.
She didn't hold back during
my one-on-one interview.
What struck me the most was her mixed
feelings about both women who ran for
governor. Can I ask who you voted for?
I'm a Republican. Even
though you did not agree with how
Kerry Lakes message and campaign was,
you still voted for her.
I did. Why is that?
Well, you know, give her a chance,
I guess. You know, I was very
disappointed in her, her rhetoric.
But I thought if she did win,
possibly we could have some dialogue
and people would tone it down.
You know, she, because she
has no political background.
Katie Hobbs has a history.
She knows how the legislature works.
She can read a bill.
She knows about appropriations,
she knows the issues and she
knows that he departments,
you know. So.
So are you hopeful that she will make
a good leader? Absolutely, absolutely.
And you know,
she is going to be our governor.
She's going to get sworn in.
And you know, and I want her
to be successful because I
want Arizona to be successful.
She's elected and now we need
to get behind her and hope
that she does the right thing.
What advice would you give her?
As far as being governor, first of all,
it's totally different than serving
as Secretary of State. Totally.
I think one of the most important things
that she's got to know is that she's got to
surround herself with real policy people,
people that can give her all the information
she needs and and and be able to condense it.
But more than that, she's going to have
to be able to tell her staff that she's
going to have to have some free time.
So I would tell her from the get go,
you have to have time to yourself
or you just totally running on.
Empty fumes.
What was the best advice that you ever got
that I was affecting so many
people's lives and that I needed to
know that it wasn't just about me,
it was about the people of Arizona.
And I tried to do that every day.
It wasn't party related.
It was about the people of Arizona.
What is it that they need and what and
what can I do to make a difference?
What does this pass election
tell you about Arizona voters?
Well, I think that it tells us that
Arizona voters are not as far right.
Or are they? As far left as it one would
suspect and that basically people are
just looking for good, great leadership.
And I know now that we all know that,
you know, there's more
independence than Republicans.
So that's the bulk of the population.
And so people want to be more moderated.
They don't want the extremes on either side.
And it did seem as though Kerry Lake.
Went more to the extreme.
Demo she has not conceded yet.
In fact, she wants to file a lawsuit.
What would you say to her?
What do you make of that?
I don't understand why you're doing it.
I mean, why are you doing it, Carrie?
I mean, it's, you know,
it's going to be certified.
It's gonna it's over,
the votes have been counted,
and there's no turning back.
So do you think she should concede
or should have done it a while ago?
Absolutely I do. Absolutely.
Finally we talked about this.
The Republican Party obviously
so divided this past election.
What kind of Republican leader do we need?
I think we need a Republican leader that.
Going to step up and talk to all
Republicans because Republicans
aren't like little sheep.
We just don't follow one after the other.
We have independent thinkers.
We think things differently
than A1 little person.
We everybody has a point of view
and we are vocal and we spread the
word and you need a leader that can
bring that all together and respect
everybody and have that opportunity
to get everybody on that level.
And I hope that that's what
happens in Arizona.
That is really,
really important.
And you're hopeful that there is a good
leader out there still for your party?
I I'm hoping. I'm hoping.
Does it make you wanna run again?
No. No, no, no.