PHOENIX – Gov. Katie Hobbs launched the first television, radio, and digital ads of her re-election campaign as part of a multi-million dollar statewide media campaign focused on her working-class background, lowering costs, and fighting for working families across Arizona. The campaign’s first major paid media push includes both English- and Spanish-language ads across all platforms.
Ads “Work,” and “No Se Rinde,” highlight how Katie Hobbs’ working-class background — from driving for Uber to support her family to helping domestic violence survivors rebuild their lives as a social worker — motivates her as governor to fight to lower costs, erase medical debt, reduce prescription drug prices, and create good-paying jobs across Arizona.
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NBC News: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs launches first TV ad of re-election campaign ahead of an expected close race
Alexandra Marquez
May 27, 2026
- Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is reflecting on her upbringing and touting her record as governor in the first TV ad of her re-election campaign this year.
- In the ad, shared first with NBC News today, Hobbs says to voters, “My parents didn’t make a lot of money. My sister and I started working and helping out early.”
- A narrator then tells viewers that Hobbs “worked fast food and drove Uber to get by. Helped families in need as a social worker,” all former jobs that she also highlighted in her first gubernatorial campaign four years ago.
- The ad comes as the midterm election season is heating up across the country and Hobbs is gearing up for a competitive race this fall. In 2022, she beat GOP nominee Kari Lake by less than 1 percentage point.
- This year’s Republican primary is still ongoing, with Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert competing for the nomination.
- In a memo from Hobbs’ campaign manager, Nicole DeMont, also shared first with NBC News, DeMont wrote that the governor is spending early on paid media in anticipation of a close race: “The Hobbs campaign knows that Arizona races always tighten in the fall, and her re-election campaign is built to do what Hobbs has always done: come out on the winning side of a very close race.”
- DeMont in the memo also called the ongoing GOP primary a “messy, chaotic race to the bottom.”
- In the ad out today, Hobbs also highlights her time as governor, with a narrator adding, “As governor, she balanced the budget without raising taxes. Expanding school lunches and community college scholarships. Reducing electricity bills and cutting red tape to build more affordable housing.”
- The race for governor in this battleground state is expected to be tight again this year. In 2024, Trump won the state in [sic] by almost 6 percentage points, while now-Sen. Ruben Gallego, a Democrat, won the state’s Senate race by over 2 percentage points.
Prensa: Katie Hobbs lanza campaña en español ‘No Se Rinde’
Oscar Ramos
May 27, 2026
- La gobernadora de Arizona, Katie Hobbs, “No Se Rinde”, la primera serie de anuncios en español de su campaña de reelección, con una compra de siete cifras que abarca televisión, radio y medios digitales en todo el estado.
- La demócrata, que aspira a un segundo mandato en una de las contiendas de gubernatura más reñidas del país, se convierte así en una de las primeras candidatas estatales en desplegar una ofensiva mediática en español a esta altura del ciclo electoral.
- Los anuncios, disponibles también en inglés bajo el título “Work”, muestran las raíces de Hobbs como arizonense de clase trabajadora: madre que manejó para Uber con el fin de comprar regalos de Navidad para sus hijos, y trabajadora social que ayudó a cientos de mujeres a reconstruir sus vidas tras la violencia doméstica.
- La pieza central, “No Se Rinde”, destaca su historial en la reducción de costos para las familias trabajadoras, la eliminación de deudas médicas, la baja en el precio de los medicamentos recetados y la creación de empleos bien remunerados.
- El lanzamiento, calificado como “históricamente temprano” para los medios en español, refleja la importancia del electorado latino en Arizona, que representa aproximadamente el 25 por ciento del padrón, unos 1.3 millones de votantes y que en 2022 respaldó a Hobbs por un margen de 64 a 36 por ciento.
- Una encuesta de Equis Research publicada en octubre de 2025 mostraba a la gobernadora con una aprobación neta de +20 puntos entre los latinos del estado, y sugería que hasta un 14 por ciento de los votantes hispanos de Trump estarían dispuestos a apoyarla en 2026, una cifra que evidencia la transversalidad de su discurso más allá de las líneas partidistas.
- La Asociación de Gobernadores Demócratas (DGA, por sus siglas en inglés) respaldó el lanzamiento en un comunicado emitido este mismo martes; su directora de comunicaciones, Sam Newton, recordó que los analistas independientes califican la contienda como un “toss-up”, y subrayó que “la gobernadora Hobbs está en una posición de fuerza porque entiende cómo las políticas caóticas de Washington están elevando los costos y tiene un historial real de trabajo bipartidista para mejorar la vida de las familias trabajadoras”.
- La ofensiva mediática de Hobbs se produce en un contexto de creciente tensión por el alza de precios, que según las encuestas más recientes ha desplazado a la inmigración como la principal preocupación de los votantes arizonenses.
Arizona Mirror: Hobbs launches multi-million-dollar reelection ad campaign touting working-class background
Jim Small
May 27, 2026
- In her first campaign ads in her reelection bid, Gov. Katie Hobbs is touting her efforts to lower costs for Arizonans and fight for working families across the Grand Canyon State.
- Hobbs’ campaign said the two ads — one in English and one in Spanish — are the launch of a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign that will run through the November election.
- While both ads center on the governor’s working class background, they each emphasize different parts of her background and record in office. The first ad, titled “Work,” focuses on how Hobbs entered the workforce as a teen to help her family make ends meet.
- It then segues into her time as governor, boasting that she “balanced the budget without raising taxes,” expanded the number of community college scholarships, reduced electricity bills and “cut red tape to build more affordable housing.”
- The Spanish-language ad, titled “No Se Rinde,” highlights her work as a social worker and Uber driver — both of which are mentioned in the English ad — but notes that her work in the former helped women escape domestic violence, while the latter was done “because she was determined to take care of her kids.”
- “Eso explica por qué no se rinde,” the narrator says, telling the viewer that it all “explains why she doesn’t back down” and will continue to fight for erasing medical debt, lower the cost of prescription drugs and create opportunities for better-paying jobs.
- In a “state of the race” memo sent out to the media in conjunction with the ads, Nicole DeMont, Hobbs’ campaign manager, said that the governor is preparing for “another tight race” in 2026, even as she enters her reelection bid “in an exceptionally strong position.”
- While the ads will air on television, DeMont noted in the memo that the campaign is putting less of its spending into traditional media to meet voters “where they are online by launching a data-driven digital program across streaming platforms like YouTube and Spotify, social media, and Google Search.”
State Affairs: Hobbs drops first ads of 2026; Biggs immediately fires back
Reagan Priest
May 27, 2026
- Gov. Katie Hobbs’ reelection campaign launched its first political ad of 2026 on Wednesday, a multi-million dollar English and Spanish campaign touting her affordability record — and Congressman Andy Biggs’ campaign was ready with a fact check the same day.
- Hobbs’ campaign is launching two ads, one in English and the other in Spanish, highlighting the governor’s work on affordability during her first term. It’s her first ad buy this year, with the clips expected to hit cable, streaming platforms and social media.
- Both ads tout the governor’s cost-lowering initiatives, crediting her for a range of accomplishments: expanding school lunches, community college scholarships, affordable housing and manufacturing jobs while lowering utility bills, prescription drug costs and medical debt.
- Hobbs’ ad praised the governor for “reducing electricity bills,” likely referring to her Power AZ and Efficiency Arizona programs, which funnel federal funding to utility bill assistance and energy efficient home upgrades.
