Gov. Jan Brewer faces a little-known moderate Tuesday in a Republican primary election contest that saw her prospects boosted by her signing of a controversial law targeting illegal immigration. Attorney General Terry Goddard was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Doug Ducey reported spending $581,000 on the Republican primary for state treasurer, more than any state-level candidate except for Buz Mills' defunct gubernatorial campaign.

Ducey, the former CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, spent $100,000 in the week before the Aug. 10 trigger report was submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. Partly due to the spate of television ads he's aired, Ducey has spent more than every state treasurer candidate from the past two election cycles combined in his four-way primary.

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.

Terry Goddard greeted the news of Buz Mills’ exit from the governor’s race with an enthusiastic proclamation. “Game on. Sixteen weeks to change Arizona,” the Democratic attorney general wrote on his Twitter account.

Buz Mills didn't end his gubernatorial campaign quietly, lashing out at Gov. Jan Brewer instead of giving her the support she saw from state Treasurer Dean Martin when he bowed out of the race several days earlier.

A new poll says Republican Gov. Jan Brewer's popularity surged in recent months, with the Behavior Research Center saying she surfed "a political wave" from signing Arizona's immigration enforcement law.

After spending $3.2 million of his own money on his campaign, Northern Arizona businessman Buz Mills bowed out of the governor’s race, leaving Jan Brewer virtually unopposed in the Republican primary.

State Treasurer Dean Martin dropped out of the governor's race July 9, saying he would stand aside and support Gov. Jan Brewer in her battles with the Obama administration and the federal government. "Governor Brewer is going to need all our help to shoulder the burden of defending Arizona from the federal government. It is our duty to stand together as Arizona residents against an intrusive federal bureaucracy," Martin said in his announcement that he characterized as "suspending" his campaign. "Our state and the residents of Arizona are more important than playing politics."

Traditionally funded candidates may not all have the financial wherewithal of businessman Buz Mills, but the latest reports showed they’re in a position to far outspend their Clean Elections foes, thanks in large part to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to block matching funds this election cycle.

Yavapai County businessman Buz Mills reports spending nearly $3.2 million in his campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.