By Dillon Rosenblatt | Arizona Capitol Times
There’s a new Republican candidate for governor, and President Trump has publicly shown support for him in the past.
Jorge Rivas, the owner of Sammy’s Mexican Grill near Tucson, filed his statement of interest this week and told Capitol Times he thinks the current field of Republicans vying for the top elected job aren’t good enough.
Rivas attended a Trump rally in Phoenix last year and as a result lost some business based on public comments identifying him as a Trump supporter in hopes to hurt his sales. People also flooded his Yelp page with negative reviews.
But with one tweet of support from the former president, business was booming again from other Trump supporters and Arizonans donning red Make America Great Again hats travelling hours just to eat his food. It’s how Rivas’ name was thrust into the local spotlight at the turn of the pandemic. Trump also spoke at an event in May 2020 where he invited Rivas and his wife, Betty, to speak.
Now Rivas wants to use that notoriety to run for governor.
Rivas said he thinks the current field of five Republicans – Kari Lake, Matt Salmon, Karrin Taylor Robson, Kimberly Yee and Steve Gaynor – are all “very similar with their ideas and the way they talk.”
Rivas said he’s different.
