PHOENIX – Governor Katie Hobbs and Lieutenant Governor-Elect John Giles addressed supporters tonight at a victory rally at the Carpenters Local 1912 hall, after their race was officially called this morning. Giles will become Arizona’s first-ever lieutenant governor.
Their remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below.
Lieutenant Governor-Elect John Giles
Remarks as prepared for delivery
Thank you, Arizona! It means so much to see you all here tonight.
I’m the only non-Democrat who had a good night last night.
In all seriousness, this is a day I will never forget.
And I am honored, truly honored, to stand before you as your lieutenant governor-elect.
For 114 years, since statehood, Arizona has never had a lieutenant governor.
Four years ago, you voted to change that. You decided that the governor and the person next in line should run together, as a team, and answer to you together.
And now, for the first time in our state’s history, you’ve elected that team. And I am truly humbled to become Arizona’s first lieutenant governor.
I’ll be honest: being first at anything is a little daunting. There’s no handbook. There’s no predecessor to call for advice.
On the bright side, nobody can tell me, “That’s not how the last guy did it.”
But I do know this: Arizona voters created this office so the governor and lieutenant governor would work as one team, with one mission. That’s exactly what Governor Hobbs and I will be: a team that wakes up every morning asking what Arizona needs, and then gets it done. I can’t wait to get started.
None of this would be possible without my wife, Dawn. We met at BYU; we’ve been married 43 years, and she’s stuck with me through ten years as mayor, five kids, ten grandkids, and one very unexpected campaign. Dawn, I love you. My kids and grandkids are in the room tonight, and nothing makes me prouder. Every decision I make, I think about what kind of Arizona they’ll grow up in.
I learned that from my own parents. My dad was an elementary school principal, and my mom was a teacher. They taught me that public service means showing up for the people who are counting on you. I’ve tried to live up to that every day, and I’ll never stop.
To everyone who knocked doors, made phone calls, and talked to their friends and neighbors: thank you.
And to every Republican and Independent who crossed party lines this year: I know that wasn’t easy. I’ve walked that road myself. But putting Arizona first is always worth it, and I’m grateful to every one of you who believed in the governor and me.
To the Arizonans who didn’t vote for us: I promise I will wake up every day and work just as hard for you.
As mayor, I learned there’s no Republican way or Democratic way to fill a pothole. The same is true at the State Capitol. There’s no partisan approach that protects our water, builds homes families can afford, keeps rural hospitals open, or gets our kids ready for the good jobs coming to this state.
My goal is simple: help Governor Hobbs deliver.
Starting in January, I’ll be working with mayors, county leaders, Tribal leaders, business owners, and educators in every corner of our state, rural, suburban, and urban. That’s how we built the Mesa College Promise and passed Prop 479: everybody at the table, focused on getting things done.
For four years, I’ve watched Katie Hobbs stand up to Washington and leaders in her own party. I’ve watched her bring Republicans and Democrats to the same table and get things done.
Every time the choice was between what’s best for a political party and what’s best for Arizona, she chose Arizona.
This morning, Arizona chose four more years of that leadership.
And Arizona did something more. You elected a Democratic governor and a former Republican mayor, now an Independent, on the same ticket, and you asked us to work together. We come from different backgrounds and different parties, but we share the same north star: putting Arizona first. And we’re proof that when you work together, you get things done.
Think about the moment we’re in. All across this country, people are retreating to their partisan corners. Neighbors stop talking over a yard sign. Families dread the holidays. We’re told that the people who vote differently from us aren’t just wrong; they’re the enemy.
Arizona chose a different path. You chose unity over division, and respect over resentment. You decided that someone from the other party isn’t someone to defeat. They’re someone to work with.
Finding common ground isn’t giving ground. It’s the Arizona way: bring people together and solve problems. Washington could learn a thing or two from it, because what happened here proves our politics doesn’t have to be this way.
All year, a lot of loud voices told us we’re too divided to come together. Arizona just proved them wrong.
Now it’s our job to keep proving it, every single day. And there’s no one I’d rather do that with than Governor Hobbs.
It will be the honor of my life to serve alongside her.
Please join me in welcoming our Governor, Katie Hobbs!
Governor Katie Hobbs
Remarks as prepared for delivery
Thank you, John! And good evening, Arizona!
Our race was officially called this morning, and I am honored to stand before you as your governor for four more years!
And I’m proud to share this win with John Giles, who is about to make history as Arizona’s first-ever lieutenant governor. As Mayor of Mesa, John showed what it looks like to put people ahead of politics. I couldn’t ask for a better partner for the next four years.
I love this state. I was born here. I grew up in Tempe, went to school in Flagstaff, and raised my own kids here. Every day that I get to serve as your governor, I love Arizona a little more, because every day I meet more of the people who make this place home.
Just look around this room. Every one of you gave something to get us here: your time, your weekends, your resources, your voice.
This victory belongs to you even more than it does to me.
I also want to congratulate Secretary of State Adrian Fontes on his re-election as well as Attorney General Kris Mayes.
And for the first time in sixty years, Arizona is sending Democratic majorities to both chambers of the Legislature. To Democratic Leaders Oscar De Los Santos and Priya Sundareshan: congratulations.
Sixty years. I want you to understand what that means to me. When I got to the Legislature in 2011, there were so few Democrats in the Senate, we joked that the caucus could share one pizza. So we got to work. In 2014, I co-founded the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee because I believed we could build something special. Ten years later, as governor, I made a commitment to fight for legislative races, because they are too often overlooked.
We’ve now gone from a one-pizza caucus to a majority in both chambers. We made the case to every corner of this state, and you carried it to every door. Volunteers knocked in the summer heat, neighbors talked to neighbors, and voters showed up. Together, we have made history.
Four years ago, I stood before you and said Arizona had chosen sanity over chaos. In this election, Arizona made that choice again.
You chose leaders who answer to Arizona, not Washington. You told us what keeps you up at night: the grocery bill, the rent or the mortgage, the price at the pump, the cost of a prescription. Washington keeps driving those costs up. And you chose a governor who will keep working to bring them down.
You chose a governor who will stand up for Arizonans, even when powerful people in Washington come calling. And I know firsthand that standing up isn’t always easy.
In 2020, as secretary of state certifying the presidential election, I learned what doing that job could cost. People posted my home address online. They posted my son’s cell phone number and harassed him. Someone wrote that they should burn down my house and kill my family. An armed mob showed up outside our home, chanting, “We are watching you.” Bomb sniffing dogs were deployed at my home to ensure my family’s safety.
But I. Stood. My. Ground. Because the will of Arizona voters is not up for negotiation.
In 2028, the whole country will be watching Arizona again. And the people certifying your vote will answer to you, not to anyone in Washington.
So let me reiterate my promise to you: I will always answer to Arizona.
I want to thank Arizonans for trusting me with this job a second time. Being your governor is the honor of my life, and I don’t take it for granted.
To my husband, Pat, and my children, Sam and Hannah: thank you for your love, your patience, and for putting up with campaigns that took over our lives. To our volunteers who made calls and knocked doors, plenty of them in triple-digit heat: thank you. And to our incredible staff, led by Nicole DeMont, who gave it their all to make sure we’d be standing here: this is your win.
At our very first rally, I said elections are won in neighborhoods, at kitchen tables, and on the streets of every town in this state.
You proved it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
And to the Arizonans who voted for my opponent, I want you to hear this. I will work just as hard for you as for anyone who voted for me.
I’ve worked the counter at Burger King, driven for Uber, and lived through a foreclosure. I know what it’s like to lie awake worrying about the bills. That worry doesn’t care whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican, Independent, or anything else.
Over this past year, I’ve crisscrossed this state, from Prescott to Pearce, from Kingman to Sierra Vista, from Flagstaff to Tucson. I made tortillas at the Chile Pepper in Yuma. I marched in the Navajo Nation Fair parade, and I’m proud to be the first governor to visit all 22 Tribal Nations in Arizona. I even went back to the Burger King where I worked in high school.
And everywhere I go, I’m reminded that what unites us is so much stronger than what divides us. We all want the same things: lower costs, safe communities, a secure border, good schools, and water for generations to come.
Four years ago, I stood on a stage like this one and made you promises – and I kept them. We showed the politicians in Washington what it means to deliver for the people you represent instead of playing their cynical political games.
We showed Washington you can cut taxes for hard-working people, not just billionaires. We cut taxes every single year for seniors, middle-class families, veterans, and small businesses.
We showed Washington that we can lower costs when we put everyday people first. We erased $1 billion in medical debt for nearly 700,000 Arizonans. We launched AZRx, a free discount card that’s saving Arizonans hundreds on their prescriptions. We repealed the tax on rent. And we went to bat for you against the utility companies, saving Arizonans more than $320 million on your bills.
We showed Washington Arizona won’t be pushed around anymore when it comes to our water. We sued the federal government to protect our fair share of the Colorado River. When a Saudi corporation used our groundwater to send crops overseas, we kicked them off our land. And, we brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass a groundwater law that saves water and grows our economy at the same time.
We showed Washington we can secure the border and take on the cartels without deporting American citizens and indiscriminately rounding up people who pay taxes, work hard, and have been in their community for years. We put the National Guard at our ports of entry and got local, state, and federal law enforcement working as one team, laser-focused on fighting the cartels and keeping our families safe. Together, we’ve seized more than 19 million fentanyl pills, 9,000 pounds of meth, and 1,600 illegal weapons.
We showed Washington how to invest in working people so they can build a good-paying, family-sustaining career. We created community college scholarships and new apprenticeships, so you don’t need a four-year degree to get ahead. And we made sure 700,000 kids don’t go to school hungry.
And, we showed Washington how to fight for your freedoms… and win. I promised you I would do everything in my power to repeal the 1864 total abortion ban that put so many women’s lives at risk. I did what 23 governors and 55 legislatures before me couldn’t or wouldn’t do: I repealed it. Now, my daughter and women and girls like her across Arizona won’t be forced to live in a state where they have fewer rights than I did at their age.
But the challenges we face weren’t created overnight, and we knew we wouldn’t solve them overnight. There’s so much more to do — and I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work.
In my second term, we’ll continue protecting our water from the Upper Basin states, from the federal government, and from the out-of-state corporations who want to take it for their own gain.
We’ll secure our border from the cartels who are pushing poison in our streets.
We’ll crack down on the waste, fraud, and abuse in the out-of-control ESA entitlement program while delivering one billion dollars to our public schools – without raising taxes.
We’re going to slash red tape for starter homes to lower costs and make it easier to build a life here at home.
And we will keep expanding apprenticeship opportunities so every Arizonan has a shot at a good-paying career even if a four-year degree isn’t the right path for them.
These are Arizona challenges, and they deserve Arizona solutions. In my second term, we’ll keep building on our progress and make Arizona the affordable state it was when I was growing up.
To my colleagues in the Legislature: my door is open, just as it has been for four years. Republicans and Democrats have sat at my table, and together we’ve passed balanced, bipartisan budgets that put Arizona families first.
But to anyone who would rather obstruct and chase Washington’s agenda over Arizona’s, look at the results of this election. The voters sent a clear message. They want us to deliver, and they will hold us accountable if we don’t.
Every race I’ve ever run, people have counted me out. And every time, Arizona has had the final word.
Arizona, I have never been more hopeful about our state’s future. I’ve seen what this state can do when we stop asking which side you’re on and start asking what Arizona needs. When we set partisan politics aside, focus on the problem in front of us, and get the job done, there is nothing — nothing — we can’t accomplish.
Arizona has always been built by people who looked at the desert and saw opportunity. People who knew this can be a place where you can live in a safe neighborhood, where you can work hard and build a good life for yourself and your family, and where you have the freedom to live your life the way you choose without the government telling you what to do or who to be.
That same spirit is in every one of you. You voted to help make that potential a reality. And together, we will ensure Arizona’s best days are still ahead of us.
Four years ago, I ended this speech by saying: let’s get to work. We did. And we’re not done yet. Let’s keep Arizona moving forward.
Thank you, Arizona!
