Here’s what happened.
Arizona’s race for governor took a surprising turn Tuesday when Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs announced that former Republican Mesa Mayor John Giles will join her ticket as she battles to keep control of the governor’s office.
The unusual political partnership puts Hobbs alongside a longtime former Republican who has openly criticized President Donald Trump and previously supported Democrats in major elections.
Hobbs is seeking another term against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs, a Trump ally who is hoping to flip the governor’s office in a state Trump carried in 2024.
The decision sets up a closely watched November showdown that could test whether Democrats can win over enough independents and anti-Trump Republicans to hold power in one of the nation’s most important battleground states.
Hobbs Turns To Former Republican
Hobbs announced Giles as her running mate Tuesday, presenting the former Mesa mayor as someone willing to put Arizona ahead of partisan politics.
The 2026 election marks a major change for Arizona voters. For the first time in state history, candidates for governor are running alongside candidates for the newly established office of lieutenant governor.
Hobbs said that new system made her choice especially important.
She argued that Giles shares her belief that Arizona’s interests should come before party loyalty and portrayed their partnership as an example of bipartisan leadership.
Giles also used the announcement to reach beyond traditional Democratic voters.
The former Republican said he was proud to join Hobbs and argued that political extremists should not prevent elected officials from getting things done.
His message could provide a preview of the Hobbs campaign’s strategy heading into November: maintain Democratic support while making an aggressive play for independents, moderates and Republicans who have become uncomfortable with Trump and the MAGA movement.
Giles Has A History Of Opposing Trump
Although Giles spent much of his political career as a Republican, his relationship with the modern GOP has changed significantly.
He served as mayor of Mesa from 2014 until 2025, becoming a prominent political figure in one of Arizona’s largest cities.
Giles later changed his voter registration from Republican to independent, formally distancing himself from the party he had belonged to for years.
But his break with Trump-era Republican politics began much earlier.
During the 2024 presidential election, Giles endorsed then-Vice President Kamala Harris rather than Trump.
In an opinion column explaining his decision, Giles argued that the country needed political leaders willing to put national interests ahead of party loyalty. He also criticized Trump while making his case for supporting the Democratic presidential ticket.
Those previous statements are likely to become an issue in the governor’s race.
For Hobbs, Giles could help attract voters who traditionally supported Republicans but remain skeptical of Trump and his political allies.
For Biggs, Giles’ record gives Republicans an opportunity to argue that the former Mesa mayor has moved away from the conservative voters who once supported him.
Biggs Builds His Own Conservative Ticket
Biggs has already made his choice for lieutenant governor.
The Republican selected former Arizona state Sen. Sine Kerr as his running mate.
Kerr brings a significantly different political background to the contest.
A dairy farmer and former state lawmaker, Kerr was appointed by the Trump administration in 2025 to serve as Arizona executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
Her agricultural background could also help the Republican ticket appeal to rural Arizona communities where farming, water policy and the cost of doing business remain major concerns.
The result is a race featuring two tickets offering voters very different political directions.
Hobbs is running with a former Republican who backed Harris and became an outspoken Trump critic.
Biggs is running with a former Republican state senator who served in the Trump administration.
Trump’s Arizona Victory Looms Over The Race
Trump will inevitably loom large over the governor’s contest.
He carried Arizona in the 2024 presidential election by nearly six percentage points, returning the traditionally Republican battleground state to the GOP column after Democrats narrowly captured it four years earlier.
That performance gives Republicans reason to believe Arizona’s governor’s office is within reach.
But presidential and gubernatorial elections can produce very different results.
Hobbs has already demonstrated her ability to win a statewide race in Arizona, and incumbency gives her an established political organization as she seeks another term.
Her decision to choose Giles suggests her campaign sees an opportunity among voters who may lean Republican on certain issues but are less enthusiastic about candidates closely associated with Trump.
Republicans See A Major Pickup Opportunity
For Republicans, defeating Hobbs would represent an important political victory.
Arizona has become one of America’s most fiercely contested states, attracting enormous attention and campaign spending from both parties.
Control of the governor’s office can also carry consequences extending well beyond a single election.
Governors influence state spending, taxes, education, border-related policies, appointments and numerous other issues affecting Arizona families and businesses.
That could make the Hobbs-Biggs contest particularly important for voters concerned about the economy, immigration, public safety and the direction of state government.
Hobbs Makes A Play For The Political Middle
Selecting Giles appears to be an effort by Hobbs to make the election about more than traditional party labels.
Rather than choosing another prominent Democrat, she selected someone who spent years in Republican politics before eventually breaking with the party.
That strategy carries both potential rewards and risks.
Giles could make the Democratic ticket more attractive to independents and moderate Republicans. At the same time, his selection could frustrate progressive Democrats who would have preferred Hobbs to choose someone more closely aligned with their priorities.
Republicans, meanwhile, are likely to emphasize Giles’ support for Harris and opposition to Trump as they attempt to prevent conservative voters from viewing the ticket as genuinely bipartisan.
Arizona Could Deliver Another Political Showdown
The Cook Political Report currently rates the governor’s race as “Lean Democrat,” giving Hobbs an advantage while still treating the contest as competitive.
Recent political history suggests Republicans cannot afford to overlook Arizona.
The state has repeatedly produced extremely competitive statewide elections, even as Trump’s 2024 victory showed that Republicans remain capable of winning substantial support there.
Hobbs is now betting that an alliance with a former Republican can help her build a coalition strong enough to survive another difficult election.
Biggs and Republicans are betting on something very different: that Arizona voters who returned to Trump in 2024 will also be ready to put a Republican back in the governor’s office.
That makes the November contest about more than Hobbs and Biggs.
It could become another test of Trump’s influence over Arizona politics and whether Democrats can counter that strength by peeling away independents and Republicans who remain opposed to the president.
With control of the governor’s office on the line, Arizona is once again shaping up to be one of the biggest political battlegrounds in America.