'He will do the right thing': Former Gov. Ducey contacted by special counsel investigating Jan. 6

Former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey was contacted by the special counsel investigating attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, an aide to the former governor confirmed Tuesday.

Ducey was one of Donald Trump's many targets — several of them in Arizona — in the former president's efforts to stay in power after his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden three years ago. Trump lost Arizona to Biden by 10,457 votes, the first time in decades a Democrat carried the state.

Former Ducey chief of staff Daniel Scarpinato confirmed Ducey was contacted as part of the ongoing investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith, but declined to share details of the interaction.

"He’s been responsive, and just as he’s done since the election, he will do the right thing," Scarpinato said. CNN was first to report the outreach to the former Republican governor.

Ducey is widely noted for standing up to Trump's pressure campaign, famously doing so by silencing a call from Trump as Ducey signed off on the 2020 election results.

But prior to the election, Ducey had a supportive but tenuous relationship with the president. He touted the state's mail-in voting system during a White House meeting at Trump's side, appeared at Trump rallies, and his aides offered advice to Trump's team on winning Arizona.

The two soon exemplified the division within GOP politics, however. Ducey — on the outs as a punching bag for Trump after refusing to change Arizona's results — led an effort last year to elect traditional Republicans to governors' offices across the nation.

When his preferred candidate for Arizona governor lost in the primary, Ducey fell in line with the goal of electing Republicans, directing over $14 million to support the election of Trump-endorsed GOP nominee Kari Lake. Lake made false claims of election fraud a centerpiece of her campaign, which is likely one of the reasons Republican voters defected to hand Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs a victory.

After leaving office in January after eight years at the helm of the state, Ducey announced he would lead an effort to build support for free enterprise conservative ideas. Meanwhile, Trump, who still has a grip on grassroots voters, is the leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported Ducey had told donors he was surprised Smith's team had not contacted him as part of the ongoing probe of Trump's effort to change the election ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Trump announced on his social media platform Tuesday he had received a second target letter in that inquiry, suggesting criminal charges could come soon.

Who else has special counsel contacted in Arizona?

Smith's office has kept a focus on Arizona, where Trump sought to influence several lawmakers to change the election result and where his false claims seem to have taken root. The inquiries highlight Arizona's prominence as a battleground state, which Biden won by the narrowest margin on the map in 2020.

Smith's team spoke to several GOP lawmakers in the spring and has subpoenaed records related to two election cases from the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, including possible evidence, proposed exhibits and communications with opposing attorneys. Arizona's current and former House speakers, Republicans Ben Toma of Glendale and Rusty Bowers of Mesa, both spoke to investigators or the FBI as part of the probe.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, as well as two other senators, were subpoenaed in February. The Senate in 2021 ordered a review of Maricopa County ballots in the presidential and U.S. Senate races, a widely discredited exercise that has led to enduring distrust of elections in the Grand Canyon State.

Two key figures in that review — then-Senate President Karen Fann, R-Prescott, and Kelly Townsend, R-Apache Junction — have previously said they turned over to the FBI communications and records related to Trump's efforts to nullify the election result.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Special counsel for Jan. 6 contacts former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey