Katie Hobbs taps former Republican mayor as running mate

Campaign Katie Hobbs taps former Republican mayor as running mate Comments: by Caroline Vakil - 08/11/26 9:56 AM ET Comments: Link copied by Caroline Vakil - 08/11/26 9:56 AM ET Comments: Link copied

NOW PLAYING

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) tapped former Mesa Mayor John Giles (R) as her running mate on Tuesday as the first-term Democrat eyes a reelection bid against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs this November.

“Now, for the first time in our state’s history, we are electing a governor and lieutenant governor on the same ticket, and the first thing I looked for in a running mate was someone who shares that value of putting Arizonans ahead of partisan politics,” Hobbs said in a video announcement.

“That’s why I’m proud to introduce my running mate, former Mesa Mayor John Giles,” she added.

Giles said in the video that he was “proud” to be named Hobb’s No. 2 pick and sought to court Republicans and independents, noting he is a former GOP-turned-independent himself “because extremists shouldn’t stand in the way of getting things done.”

The New York Times reported last week that Hobbs was expected to pick Giles as her running mate.

Giles was Mesa’s mayor between 2014 and 2025, and he changed his party affiliation from Republican to “no party preference” last month before he was announced as Hobbs’s pick, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Giles notably endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024. In an op-ed he wrote ahead of the presidential election, Giles argued, “Now more than ever, we need leaders who will put country over party,” and he criticized President Trump.

Biggs announced last month that he would be picking former state Sen. Sine Kerr (R) as his running mate in the gubernatorial race. A dairy farmer, Kerr was later tapped by the Trump administration to serve as Arizona’s Farm Service Agency executive director in 2025.

Trump won the Grand Canyon State in 2024 by close to 6 points, making the governor’s race a prime pickup opportunity for Republicans heading into the fall.

The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Hobbs’s seat as “lean Democrat.”

Add as preferred source on Google Tags Andy Biggs Arizona Arizona elections John Giles Katie Hobbs Katie Hobbs sine kerr

Comments: Link copied