Term-limited Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won't test the state constitution and run for re-election after all

Term-limited Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer won&#039;t test the state constitution and run for re-election after all

(Image credit: Jonathan Gibby / Getty Images)

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) announced Wednesday she will not run for re-election this year. Arizona's Constitution has a two-term limit for governors, though Brewer indicated in recent months she might try to find a way around that restriction. Her first term did, after all, come via an appointment in 2009, when then-governor Janet Napolitano left to become Homeland Security secretary under President Barack Obama.

"There does come a time to pass the torch of leadership," she said Wednesday. "And after competing this term in office, I will be doing just that."

Brewer was once a GOP darling, in part because she signed a controversial immigration bill into law — parts of which the Supreme Court later struck down — and because she publicly confronted Obama on an airport tarmac. But she's since tacked a less confrontational course, most recently vetoing a bill that would have allowed businesses to deny service to gay couples over ostensibly religious objections.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.