Jan Brewer

Jan Brewer
Brewer in 2025
22nd Governor of Arizona
In office January 21, 2009 – January 5, 2015
Preceded by	Janet Napolitano
Succeeded by	Doug Ducey
18th Secretary of State of Arizona
In office January 6, 2003 – January 21, 2009
Governor	Janet Napolitano
Preceded by	Betsey Bayless
Succeeded by	Ken Bennett
Member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
In office January 3, 1997 – January 6, 2003
Preceded by	Ed King
Succeeded by	Max Wilson
Member of the Arizona Senate from the 19th district
In office January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1997
Preceded by	Billy Davis
Succeeded by	Scott Bundgaard
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 19th district
In office January 3, 1983 – January 6, 1987
Preceded by	Jane Dee Hull
Succeeded by	Don Kenney
Personal details
Born	Janice Kay Drinkwine (1944-09-26) September 26, 1944 (age 80) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	John Brewer ​ (m. 1970)​
Children	3
Education	Glendale Community College (California)
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Janice Kay Brewer (née Drinkwine; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015, as a member of the Republican Party. Prior to this, Brewer was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, Arizona Senate, and Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and served as Secretary of State of Arizona from 2003 to 2009.

Born in California, Brewer graduated from Glendale Community College and moved to Arizona. She ran for a seat in the state house to influence education policy while her children were in school. In the Arizona Senate she became majority whip in 1993, and was known for her proposals to put content warnings on profane albums and to create a position of lieutenant governor so the secretary of state would not be next in line to the governorship. Brewer became chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in 1997, after campaigning on opposition to a tax it levied.

Elected as secretary of state in 2003, Brewer served until she assumed the governorship as part of the line of succession when Governor Janet Napolitano resigned to become U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. Brewer was responsible for addressing the state's deficit. She authorized spending cuts and pushed for a sales tax that was unpopular with her party but approved by referendum. Brewer became a national political figure in 2010 when she signed SB 1070 into law, authorizing the strictest immigration policy in the United States. The law boosted her appeal within the Republican Party, and she was elected to a full term later that year. Brewer was a prominent opponent of President Barack Obama, especially on immigration and healthcare, such that an image of her waving her finger at Obama on an airport tarmac became an iconic representation of her political career. Despite opposing his Affordable Care Act, Brewer forced her party to pass its Medicaid expansion in Arizona by refusing to sign any laws until it was done. Brewer received national attention again when she vetoed SB 1062, which would have legalized discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Arizona. Other policies implemented by Brewer included performance-based funding for public schools, Child Protective Services reform, at-will employment for government employees, and loosened restrictions on concealed carry.

Brewer disputed that she was term limited in 2014 as she had only served part of her first term, but she chose not to run for reelection and was succeeded by Doug Ducey. During the 2016 presidential election she campaigned for Donald Trump and was considered a possible running mate for him. She distanced herself from Trumpism through her opposition to the American Health Care Act and the attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, but continued to endorse Trump.