An early contender, Martin fades amid Brewer’s momentum

Dean Martin

When state Treasurer Dean Martin entered the race in January, he had long looked like Gov. Jan Brewer’s most dangerous adversary in the Republican primary.

Brewer was floundering in her budget battle with the Legislature and reeling from conservative opposition to her proposed sales tax hike.

In the meantime, Martin had firmly established himself as the state‘s budget expert, an image he began cultivating during his feud with former Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano. Napolitano famously called him “Chicken Little” for his pessimistic state revenue forecasts, and Martin reaped the benefits of good publicity when he turned out to be right. Martin publicly opposed Brewer’s proposed sales tax hike, favoring a cuts-based budget that many conservatives clamored for.

But S1070 did the unthinkable — it put the debate over the economy on the back burner. And Martin’s campaign never got the momentum it seemed capable of. He struggled in collecting the 4,410 $5 contributions he needed to qualify for Clean Elections and lost the spotlight to millionaire businessman Buz Mills as Brewer’s preeminent challenger. And a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Clean Elections’ matching funds provision cost Martin $1.4 million in campaign money.

Martin’s lackluster campaign fueled speculation that he would drop of the race, but the timing of his announcement surprised many observers. By early July, he seemed to be getting his campaign in order. He got his $707,443 from the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, opened his campaign office, brought in new staffers, hired a new consultant and started putting up campaign signs around the Valley.

But the momentum was short-lived. Two days after he opened his north Phoenix campaign office, Martin suspended his campaign on July 9 and threw his support behind Brewer. Martin has until July 26 to return his mostly unspent Clean Elections money. He said he will serve out the remainder of his term as treasurer and focus on a charity founded in honor of his late wife, who died in May 2009, after he leaves office.