Katie Hobbs officially launched her 2026 re-election campaign in an exceptionally strong position thanks to her relentless focus and record of results on the biggest issues Arizonans care about, a weak GOP primary field intent on making itself unelectable, and a strong campaign infrastructure built to win the general election.
Hobbs is coming off the most productive legislative session of her tenure, having successfully worked across the aisle to deliver a bipartisan, balanced budget that provides a clear contrast with the partisan Washington, D.C. budget her opponents cheered on. Arizonans are taking notice of Hobbs’ common sense, results-driven approach, with her job approval at an all-time high of +19 in Morning Consult’s latest survey.
At a time when voters are facing economic uncertainty from chaotic policies in Washington, Hobbs’ working-class upbringing gives her a unique ability to relate to everyday Arizonans. Growing up, her family at times relied on food stamps and their church community to get by. She raised two kids through the Great Recession, drove for Uber to make sure she could buy Christmas presents for her kids, and she and her husband are still paying off student loans. Understanding Arizonans’ struggles isn’t a talking point for Katie Hobbs – it’s her life experience, and it allows her to earn trust with Arizonans who are looking for leaders who actually get what they are going through.
While Arizona statewide races are guaranteed to be competitive until Election Day, Katie Hobbs is entering her re-election exactly where she needs to be to earn a second term.
Desperate GOP Primary Candidates Sell Out Arizonans To Keep Their Political Ambitions Alive
Like many prior Arizona GOP primaries, the gubernatorial primary is all about staying in the President’s good graces, with one report already calling it a “race to the right” a full year before the election. The GOP candidates have no choice but to enthusiastically embrace every harmful position coming out of Washington and sell out Arizonans in the hopes of keeping their political ambitions alive. That makes it difficult to tell the difference between MAGA leader Andy Biggs, billionaire corporate developer Karrin Taylor Robson, and corrupt David Schweikert.
Until the August 2026 primary, they will take countless harmful positions that will come back to haunt them in the general election; they will drain their campaign accounts exposing each other’s vulnerabilities and ensuring voters don’t like any one of them by the time the primary is over; and they will waste their time appealing to a GOP primary base that looks nothing like the electorate they’ll need to win over in November.
Clear Contrast: Opponents Are Loyal to Washington Politicians, Hobbs Puts Arizona First
While unsurprising, the depths these three desperate politicians are willing to sink to are alarming in their consequences for Arizonans. All three raced to show who could be a bigger cheerleader for Washington’s reckless budget that will throw nearly 400,000 Arizonans off their healthcare, drive up costs for everyone, and threaten rural health clinics – all while jacking up the cost of electricity and housing. They celebrated the tariffs that amount to the largest tax increase in Arizona history, caused panic among small businesses, and are leading to job losses across the state. And they continue to undermine the will of Arizona voters by lining up behind Trump’s plan to end mail-in voting and relitigating the results of the 2020 election.
Biggs, Taylor Robson, and Schweikert have chosen to tie themselves to their party’s agenda in Washington, no matter how much it hurts everyday Arizonans. While that calculated political decision may help them win the primary election, it proves to Arizonans how shameless, out-of-touch, and spineless they truly are. It also gives Arizonans the opportunity to see that there is a better choice, and someone who always puts Arizona first.
In the most recent legislative session, Hobbs showed what real Arizona leadership looks like by putting politics aside and keeping the focus on what Arizonans need most. She signed a balanced budget that put Arizona families first. Together with the Republican Legislature, Hobbs cut taxes for middle-class families, fought to ensure Arizona companies and the jobs they create would remain and grow in Arizona, invested in stronger border security measures, secured pay raises for law enforcement and firefighters, provided 68,000 children with school meals, and offered scholarships for community college.
While Biggs, Taylor Robson, and Schweikert explain to Arizonans why they supported a budget that raises costs, guts healthcare, explodes the deficit, and kills jobs, Hobbs will stand on a record of fighting for Arizona. Voters aren’t looking to Washington for answers—they’re looking for leaders who put Arizona first. Katie Hobbs has the record to prove it.
Hobbs’ Winning Strategy Will Add to Her Winning Record
While her opponents can’t see past the August 2026 primary election, the Hobbs campaign has been and will remain 100 percent focused on winning the general election in November. Hobbs will be criss-crossing the state, hosting events, and talking to Arizonans about her record of bipartisan solutions on everything from securing the border to protecting Arizona’s water to lowering costs. And thanks to her record-breaking fundraising, she’ll have a sizable warchest behind her to ensure her campaign has the resources it needs to communicate with Arizonans, get voters out in every corner of the state, and come out on top.
Despite running in a state with a +9 Republican advantage for offices that Democrats hadn’t won in decades, Katie Hobbs has never lost an election – and that’s no accident. She has a long track record of speaking to the issues that matter to Arizonans, focusing on results and not politics, and working hard to ensure Arizonans know how her pragmatic approach differs from that of her opponents. Hobbs has built a brand of putting sanity over chaos, which is exactly what Arizonans are looking for as politicians in Washington make life harder for everyday Arizonans. No Arizona governor has lost re-election in Katie Hobbs’ lifetime, and this campaign is prepared to extend that winning streak.
