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Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs secured the Republican nomination for governor on Tuesday, defeating fellow Republican Rep. David Schweikert and setting up a general election showdown with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in one of the nation’s most closely watched gubernatorial races.
Biggs, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump and former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, won the Republican primary with support from the president and the conservative grassroots organizations.
He will face Hobbs, who narrowly defeated Republican Kari Lake in the 2022 governor’s race by less than one percentage point.
“Let’s make this the year that we turn Arizona red again,” Biggs told supporters after arriving late to his victory celebration in Scottsdale because of travel delays leaving a Republican Governors Association meeting in Colorado.
“I am a conservative — and a principled conservative — but I work with people that don’t necessarily agree with me on every issue,” Biggs told a reporter after his victory speech.
He also said Republicans would unite behind his campaign heading into November.
Biggs has represented safely Republican congressional districts throughout his political career and gained national prominence while leading the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022. He also supported Trump’s efforts to challenge the certification of the 2020 presidential election, voting against Electoral College results from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The race comes as Republicans have expanded their voter registration advantage in Arizona since the last gubernatorial election, while Democrats will again rely heavily on support from independent voters.
Elsewhere on the Arizona ballot, State Senate President Warren Petersen won the Republican nomination for attorney general and will challenge Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes, who won the office by just 280 votes in 2022.
State Rep. Alexander Kolodin captured the Republican nomination for secretary of state, defeating former Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda. Kolodin previously faced state bar sanctions related to his involvement in unsuccessful legal challenges to Arizona’s 2020 election results.
In Arizona’s competitive 1st Congressional District, former NFL kicker Jay Feely won the Republican nomination with Trump’s endorsement and is expected to face Democrat Amish Shah, who held a narrow lead over Marlene Galán-Woods in the Democratic primary early Wednesday.