Out-of-Touch GOP Candidates Tout ‘Great Economy’ Despite Crushing Cost of Living for Regular Arizonans

Recent comments from Republicans running for governor show how disconnected they are from the needs of everyday Arizonans

PHOENIX — Comments from the Republicans running for governor at the PBS debate last week made clear that they are completely out of touch with the economic challenges facing everyday Arizonans. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs uniquely understands the needs of everyday Arizonans because she is the only non-millionaire in this race, and she is the only candidate who has proposed and can deliver tangible solutions for working families struggling to make ends meet.

During a GOP primary debate last week, deep-pocketed Karrin Taylor Robson said that Arizona’s “economy has come roaring back,” which makes sense given Robson’s first-class lifestyle in her palatial mansion. To make matters worse, Republican frontrunner Kari Lake, who billed herself during the same debate as a working-class candidate even as she resides in the same affluent Biltmore Estates neighborhood, said “we’ve got a great economy right now.”

“The fairytale world these Republican candidates live in is not the reality for any Arizona working-class family facing the soaring cost of everything from gas to housing, groceries and even baby formula,” Hobbs said. “I actually know what everyday Arizonans are going through because I am one too. As governor, I will work to make sure Arizonans can afford the everyday essentials in the short term and educate our children to ensure a brighter future for Arizona families.” 

Far from “roaring back” or doing “great,” Arizona joins much of the U.S. in some of the steepest increases in the cost of living in years. Prices of everyday necessities have been on the rise and Arizonans are concerned about how we will make ends meet each day.

That’s why Hobbs has called on the governor and legislature to pass her plan to immediately lower costs for everyday necessities by exempting critical items like over the counter medicine, diapers and baby formula from sales taxes, establishing a $250 state-level child tax credit and providing a refundable tax credit to train for good-paying jobs, among other measures. Read more about her plan for an Affordable Arizona here.