凤凰城-在8月2日亚利桑那州初选之前，这个摇摆不定的州的共和党选民表示，他们仍然对前总统唐纳德·特朗普在党内的地位感到困惑，因为他和他疏远的前副总统迈克·彭斯支持决斗的候选人在共和党州长竞选中。
周五在皮奥里亚举行的宴会式活动上，约有350名客人参加，彭斯与任期有限的州长道格·杜西(Doug Ducey)和共和党国务卿候选人博·莱恩(Beau Lane)一起支持州长候选人卡林·泰勒·罗布森(Karrin Taylor Robson)，后者是一位富有的捐助者，也是亚利桑那州董事会的前成员，被广泛视为当权派候选人。
紧跟…之后1月6日黄金时段的另一场听证会在21分钟的演讲中，彭斯只提到了特朗普一次，以宣扬他们的成就-小心翼翼地不在公开场合与前总统完全决裂，但对特朗普选择的候选人卡莉·莱克进行了快速抨击，称“有人想让这次选举成为过去。”
那天，在全州的一次集会上，特朗普和前电视记者出身的“超级妈妈”莱克一起，称乔·拜登总统的胜利是“非法的”，并在数千名充满活力的人群面前将前总统比作“超人”。
在接受美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)采访时，周六在湖边市政厅的选民对彭斯支持罗布森和履行宪法职责认证2020年总统选举表示失望。
“对我来说，这只是重申了我对彭斯的失望，”LeAnna Perez说，她是来自路易斯安那州的聋人和重听学生的老师，今年2月搬到亚利桑那州，将于下周在该州的第一次选举中投票。“我和迈克·彭斯已经结束了。他在证明他到底是谁。”
亚利桑那州的六名共和党人告诉美国广播公司新闻，虽然他们支持特朗普的“美国第一”政策，但他们在他是否是在已经两极分化的政治气候下实施这些政策的合适人选上存在分歧。
更多:专家警告“紧急情况”，因为特朗普支持的选举否认者可能会赢得初选
“不管他赞助谁，他在初选和大选中都会很艰难，”阿纳斯塔西娅·凯勒(Anastasia Keller)说，她是亚利桑那州的一名终身共和党人和小企业主，在2020年支持特朗普。
凯勒补充说，她有亲戚和他断绝关系:“他们真的喜欢特朗普和他的主张，他完成的一些事情，但卑鄙的推文和整体态度——我只是不认为他能让这个国家团结起来。”
彭斯曾是特朗普的忠实二号人物，现已成为风格迥异的最著名的共和党政治家之一——支持一系列当地候选人，甚至反对特朗普支持的人选，就像他在初选挑战者大卫·珀杜的问题上为佐治亚州州长布莱恩·坎普(Brian Kemp)助选一样。
莱克是州长点头的热门人选，但罗布森最近几周的民调显示，前亚利桑那州众议员马特·萨蒙(Matt Salmon)退出了支持她的竞选，并抨击莱克。但莱克将在一个已经转向蓝色的州的大选中面临一场艰苦的战斗，可能的民主党提名人国务卿凯蒂·霍布斯(Katie Hobbs)在她的大多数攻击广告中挑出莱克而不是罗布森。
支持罗布森的亚利桑那州退伍军人联盟执行董事约翰·门德斯(John Mendibles)告诉美国广播公司(ABC)新闻，共和党人“想要头脑清醒的人。我们不想要更多的疯狂。”
“我们已经受够了。那已经过去了，”门德斯说，举着罗布森的牌子对着镜头。“这是2022年;2024年要来了。”
亚利桑那州州长竞选中的一名外部策略师认为，鉴于民主党在2018年和2020年在该州的胜利，特朗普在该州的品牌受到了玷污。
“卡莉湖体现了特朗普经验。...她采用了特朗普的剧本，并[试图]复制特朗普在亚利桑那州的全国做法，”共和党策略师、亚利桑那州终身议员巴雷特·马森说。“但特朗普在2020年输掉了亚利桑那州。”
根据最近的一份报告纽约时报/锡耶纳学院民意调查，近一半(49%)的共和党人表示希望特朗普寻求连任。但另一半受访者告诉《泰晤士报》，他们希望其他人在2024年获得共和党提名，16%的共和党选民表示他们永远不会投票给特朗普。
周末参加莱克活动的选民表示，他们将在2024年支持特朗普，但也赞扬了佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯，根据时报的民意调查，他在共和党初选选民中的支持率为25%。
为DoorDash和一家基督教电影公司工作的杰森·j·贝克(Jason J. Baker)说，特朗普有他的票，“除非有一个候选人把他赶走。”
“这对我来说有点接近，因为我是州长德桑蒂斯的巨大支持者，如果(南达科他州)州长克里斯蒂·诺姆参加竞选，她几乎会从宣布中获得我的投票，”桑切斯说。
Arizona governor's primary sets up another GOP split as Trump, Pence back dueling candidates
PHOENIX -- Ahead of Arizona's Aug. 2 primary, Republican voters in the battleground state say they remain torn over former President Donald Trump's place in the party -- as he and his estranged former Vice President Mike Pence support dueling candidates in the GOP governor's race.
At a banquet-style event in Peoria on Friday with roughly 350 guests, Pence joined a term-limited Gov. Doug Ducey and GOP secretary of state candidate Beau Lane to support gubernatorial hopeful Karrin Taylor Robson, a wealthy donor and former member of the Arizona Board of Regents widely seen as the establishment candidate.
On the heels of another prime-time Jan. 6 hearing, Pence only mentioned Trump once in his 21-minute speech to tout their accomplishments -- careful not to break fully from the former president in public but taking a quick swipe at Trump's chosen candidate, Kari Lake, saying, "There are those who want to make this election about the past."
That day, at a rally across the state, Trump, alongside Lake, a former TV journalist-turned-"Ultra MAGA mom," called President Joe Biden's victory "illegitimate" and likened the former president to "Superman" before an energized crowd of thousands.
In interviews with ABC News, voters at a Lake town hall on Saturday expressed frustration with Pence for supporting Robson and for fulfilling his constitutional duty to certify the 2020 presidential election.
"To me, it just reiterated my disappointment in Pence," said LeAnna Perez, a teacher for deaf and hard-of-hearing students from Louisiana who moved to Arizona in February and will be voting in her first election in the state next week. "I'm done with Mike Pence. He's proving who he truly is."
A half-dozen Republicans in Arizona told ABC News that while they support Trump's "America First" policies, they are split on whether he is the right person to deliver them in an already polarized political climate.
"Whoever he is sponsoring is going to have a hard time in the primary and in the general election," said Anastasia Keller, a lifelong Republican, Arizonan and small business owner who supported Trump in 2020.
Keller added that she had relatives break off from him: "They really liked Trump and what he stood for, some of the things that he accomplished, but the mean tweets and the overall attitude -- I just don't think that he can bring the country together."
Pence, formerly Trump's loyal No. 2, has become one of the most prominent GOP politicians with a contrasting style -- endorsing a range of local candidates even against the Trump-endorsed picks, as he did when he stumped for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp over primary challenger David Perdue.
Lake is the odds-on favorite for the gubernatorial nod, but Robson has seen a surge in polling in recent weeks with former Arizona Rep. Matt Salmon dropping out of the race to back her and blast Lake. But Lake would face an uphill battle in the general election in a state that has shifted blue, with the likely Democratic nominee, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, singling out Lake over Robson in most of her attack ads.
John Mendibles, the executive director of Arizona's League of Veterans who is supporting Robson, told ABC News that Republicans "want level heads. We don't want no more craziness."
"We've got enough of that. That's behind us," Mendibles said, holding a Robson sign for the camera. "This is 2022; 2024 is coming."
One outside strategist in the Arizona governor's race argued that Trump's brand in the state was tarnished given Democrats' victories in the state in 2018 and 2020.
"Kari Lake embodies the Trump experience. ... She has taken the Trump playbook and [tried] to replicate what Trump did nationally in Arizona," said GOP strategist and lifelong Arizonan Barrett Marson. "But Trump lost in 2020 in Arizona."
According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, nearly half (49%) of Republicans said they wanted Trump to seek a second term. But the other half of those surveyed told the Times that they wanted someone else to get the Republican nomination in 2024 and 16% of GOP voters said they would never vote for Trump.
Voters at Lake's event over the weekend said they would back Trump in 2024 -- but also praised Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is at 25% among GOP primary voters, according to the Times poll.
Jason J. Baker, who works for DoorDash and a Christian film company, said Trump has his vote "unless there's a candidate that just blows him away."
"It would be kind of close for me, because I'm a huge supporter of Gov. DeSantis, and if [South Dakota] Gov. Kristi Noem was to ever run, she'd pretty much have my vote from the announcement," Sanchez said.
