Andy Biggs wins Republican nomination to challenge Democrat Katie Hobbs for Arizona governor

PHOENIX (AP) — U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a fierce state of President Donald Trump and erstwhile caput of the House Freedom Caucus, won the Republican information for Arizona politician Tuesday.

Biggs defeated chap U.S. Rep. David Schweikert successful the superior and volition look Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs successful what is apt to beryllium 1 of the closest gubernatorial races successful November.

Biggs built a nationalist illustration arsenic seat of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and arsenic a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s effort to artifact the certification of his nonaccomplishment successful the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and different battleground states aft the Jan. 6 riot.

During the run Schweikert argued that Biggs is unelectable and would proceed a decennary of backsliding for Republicans successful Arizona. The enactment has nominated a drawstring of Trump loyalists who excited the GOP basal but turned disconnected independents and mislaid wide elections, and Democrats present clasp some of the state’s Senate seats and the apical 3 authorities offices.

But Schweikert struggled to rise wealth and was incapable to flooded Biggs’ advantages, including Trump’s endorsement and enactment from the Turning Point Action blimpish group’s grassroots turnout machine. Schweikert didn't adjacent instrumentality to Arizona for the election, opting to stay successful Washington arsenic the House passed a authorities backing measure Tuesday.

Biggs said helium tin unite Republicans going into the wide election.

Meanwhile, some parties had hotly contested primaries to regenerate Schweikert successful the highly competitory 1st Congressional District.

Republicans were besides picking nominees for caput of authorities and lawyer general, cardinal posts with powerfulness implicit elections successful a authorities that was pivotal for Trump's efforts to overturn his nonaccomplishment successful 2020.

Biggs and Schweikert responded otherwise to Trump's GOP takeover

Biggs built a nationalist illustration arsenic seat of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and arsenic a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s effort to artifact the certification of his nonaccomplishment successful the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and different battleground states aft the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

He has ever represented harmless Republican seats and is simply a seasoned of factional brawls wrong the GOP. Before going to Congress, helium astir mislaid his station arsenic authorities Senate president during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, besides a Republican, implicit her propulsion to grow Medicaid.

“I privation the borderline secured. I privation the constabulary and much wealth spent successful the close places similar education,” said Kate Rouleau, a 67-year-old Republican who voted for Biggs. “Biggs has the aforesaid prime arsenic President Trump.”

Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, cautiously keeping his region without antagonizing him. That has helped him triumph a drawstring of pugnacious races successful a competitory House territory — a way grounds helium says volition assistance him triumph implicit plaything voters and bushed Hobbs — but has near him isolated from Trump's “ Make America Great Again ” base.

Democrats focused their attacks connected Biggs, whom they program to represent arsenic an extremist focused connected helping Trump and not Arizonans.

Primaries acceptable the tract for a apical House battleground

Schweikert’s 1st District is simply a apical battleground successful the combat for a legislature majority. Anchored successful Scottsdale, it is location to galore of the white, highly educated and affluent voters who person soured connected the GOP nether Trump.

Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely won Tuesday's GOP superior implicit Joseph Chaplik, a erstwhile authorities legislator fashionable with galore of the GOP’s grassroots activists, and businessperson John Trobough.

Feely had President Donald Trump’s endorsement but has been dogged by disapproval for surviving extracurricular the district.

Republicans clasp a elector registration vantage successful the affluent 1st District, which includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley.

But it started to inclination toward the halfway aft President Donald Trump’s 2016 victory. Redistricting accelerated the trend, fueling Democratic hopes that the spot could beryllium flipped.

In the Democratic contention successful the 1st District, the party's Congressional Campaign Committee controversially threw its enactment down Marlene Galán-Woods, a erstwhile tv quality anchor who utilized to beryllium a Republican. Her precocious husband, Grant Woods, was the Republican lawyer wide successful the 1990s and aboriginal became a vocal Trump critic.

Galán-Woods’ main opponent, Amish Shah, is an exigency medicine doc and erstwhile authorities legislator who was the nominee successful 2024 but mislaid narrowly to Schweikert.

In Tucson, retired Marine drill teacher JoAnna Mendoza ran unopposed for the Democratic information to situation second-term Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who besides had nary superior opponent. The spot is perennially competitory successful wide elections and is simply a apical pickup people for Democrats successful November.

Meanwhile, the GOP superior for the harmless Republican spot Biggs is vacating turned salacious arsenic Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who was endorsed by Trump, came nether scrutiny for alleged intersexual misconduct and maltreatment of power. Lamb won his superior Tuesday, however.

The region lawyer cleared him of transgression wrongdoing, and Trump reiterated his endorsement this month. Lamb dismissed the allegations arsenic “slander and lies.”

He faced Daniel Keenan, who owns a operation company.

___

Associated Press writer Josh Kelety contributed.

___

This communicative has been updated to close the spelling of Feely.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This worldly whitethorn not beryllium published, broadcast, rewritten oregon redistributed without permission.