Candidate closing statements:

Brewer talked about her record of growing jobs and reinvesting in Arizona’s economy. She also cited her support of S.B. 1070 and Prop. 100, as well as her opposition of the federal healthcare plan among her major accomplishments. She criticized Goddard for not having a plan to solve Arizona’s problems and said that she was the clear choice for governor.  

Gist talked about how he decided to run for governor because he was tired of complaining, but not doing anything about it. He also said that he thought his background in the private sector gave him the knowledge necessary to help address Arizona’s economic woes. 

Goddard rebuffed Brewer’s claim that she had strengthened the economy. He also talked at length about his stance on education and how improving the state education system and improving the economy go hand-in-hand. Goddard also talked about his track record combating drug cartels in Mexico, which he repeatedly said is one of the major hurdles for immigration reform.  

Hess promised Arizona a constitutional government where the only important things were protecting Arizona’s people and property. He said that partisan bickering was derailing any hope of meaningful reform and that Arizona needed a governor who wasn’t afraid of party-line backlash. 

7:45 p.m. 

On healthcare:

Goddard defended his position that Arizona should not have joined the lawsuit against federal healthcare reform and said that reform has helped to make healthcare affordable. “”It’s not perfect, but it’s moving in the right direction,”” he said. 

Brewer said she thinks “”Obamacare”” is unconstitutional, and that Arizona could not afford it. “”It is inherently wrong for the federal government to tell the people of Arizona ‘you’ve got to buy something’ when you can’t afford it,”” she said. 

Goddard criticized Brewer for eliminating a program that provided healthcare to poorer children, but Brewer challenged him to explain how he would pay for this “”great, big, wonderful government you would want.””

“”Terry, you need to tell us facts, you need to give us a plan,”” Brewer said. 

7:40 p.m. 

On education:

“”We do need to reform where we put the dollars we have…to teachers first,”” Gist said. 

Goddard said that Arizona is failing its children, and called the fact that Arizona is “”dead last”” in spending per child “”an abomination.”” 

“”We have to work very hard on making our public education system much, much better,”” Goddard said. 

Brewer said that she thinks that Arizona has a blueprint for reform which has laid the groundwork for success in the future. 

“”We need to reward, I believe, those good teachers that inspire us, and we have,”” Brewer said. 

Brewer called for 20 percent of Superintendent’s salaries to be based on performance of their districts.

Brewer also said that Goddard has “”no plans”” to address the issue and that the Obama administration “”blew a hole”” in their budget. Goddard said that Brewer is the only governor in Arizona’s history who has failed to balance the budget. 

Hess stated that the “”education of the populace”” is much more important than the “”welfare system”” of the education system as a whole. 

Gist agreed, saying that educating the populace should be a priority. 

7:35 p.m. 

Brewer and Goddard are both extolling Prop. 100, but Hess is still opposed to any new taxation. 

“”I think that as the boat of Arizona stops sinking, I think the people of Arizona will start seeing that I’m interested in saving the people and (the administration) are interested in saving the boat,”” Hess said.

On the previous administration:

“”It’s a lot of shifting of blame,”” Goddard said. He said that Napolitano made some mistakes, but that Brewer needs to take responsibility for the situation and what she has done. 

Brewer said that she didn’t know if Goddard supported Prop. 100 or not, but that he did it because it was the only solution. “”I…had to move in and fix a huge mess,”” Brewer said. 

Hess stated that only 30 percent of people showed up to vote for Prop. 100, so any talk of how overwhelmingly it was approved needs to be taken with a grain of salt. “”Here we are, same place,more taxes,”” Hess said. 

7:30 p.m. 

When asked if it was fair to raise the income tax and cut businesses taxes:

Brewer talked about affecting “”righteous tax reform.””

Goddard called for immediate tax reform to make Arizona more competitive. “”128,000 jobs have left this state since Jan Brewer has been governor,”” he said. 

Brewer blamed the previous administration, which included Goddard for the crisis. “”We have done a good job at turning it around, we have brought thousands of jobs to Arizona.””

“”The problem is you’ve lost hundreds of thousands of jobs,”” Goddard retorted. 

Gist said that he believes “”nothing should be taken off the table”” in regards to the potential of a raised income tax.

Hess said that Prop. 100 was “”foistered”” on Arizona, and said that over hiring is the major problem facing Arizona. 

7:25 p.m.

What you will do as governor to help the economy:

Brewer cited adding “”thousands of jobs”” to the Arizona economy. She also called for tax reform to make Arizona’s tax code more comparable. 

Goddard echoed Brewer’s sentiment about the tax code. “”It is absolutely imperative that jobs come first,”” Goddard said. 

Gist said he would focus on industrial bonds to grow Arizona’s manufacturing base in order to spur the economy. 

Hess said that he thinks government screws everything up. He called for eliminating government regulations in order to allow for greater growth. He also said he would support eliminating estate, personal income, and property taxes. 

7:14 p.m. 

First topic for debate is, unsurprisingly, SB 1070. 

Brewer and Goddard have begun to dominate the debate, and the third-party candidates are being 

quickly forgotten in what is rapidly becoming a back and forth. Hess, meanwhile, is asking that SB 1070 should stop dominating the debate and is trying to inject economics into the debate. 

7:00 p.m.

And we’re live at the first gubernatorial debate. Present are incumbent and Republican nominee Jan Brewer, Democratic nominee Terry Goddard,  Libertarian Barry Hess and Green Party candidate Larry Gist.