Why is he so unfavorably disposed toward Ducey, you ask? Because the governor has refused to a) overturn the election results in the state (where Trump lost) and b) acknowledge that there was widespread voter fraud in the state (there wasn’t).

What Trump is doing is making abundantly clear to Ducey that if he runs, he can expect an aggressive effort by the former president to keep him from winning.

Which is a very big deal in a party that has fully surrendered to Trump and his whims. All over the country Republican Senate candidates are falling all over themselves to please Trump in hopes of winning a coveted endorsement. Would Ducey willingly join a race where he knows the former president is going to be actively engaged against him?

Now, here’s the problem: The current Ducey-less field is decidedly weak. The nominal frontrunner is probably state Attorney General Mark Brnovich but no one — in Arizona or Washington — sees him as a top tier challenger to Kelly.