{"id":8903,"date":"2026-08-11T17:19:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8903"},"modified":"2026-08-11T17:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:19:25","slug":"in-a-partisan-age-a-democratic-governor-goes-outside-her-brand-for-a-running-mate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8903","title":{"rendered":"In a partisan age, a Democratic governor goes outside her brand for a running mate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), facing a tough reelection fight, chose former mayor John Giles, a lifelong Republican who recently became an independent.<\/strong><\/p>

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), right, on Monday in Phoenix with her running mate, former Mesa mayor John Giles. (Ross D. Franklin\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, the most vulnerable Democratic governor in the country, announced a former Republican as her running mate for reelection Tuesday, assembling a politically rare ticket in an era when partisanship reigns supreme.<\/p>\n

Hobbs chose John Giles, the former mayor of Mesa who was a lifelong Republican until he switched to be an independent this year. Giles cut his GOP tie recently, but he had crossed party lines even before disavowing the affiliation, most notably in 2024 when he endorsed Kamala Harris.<\/p>\n

Choosing an independent running mate is a gambit Hobbs hopes will lift her to a second gubernatorial term in a purple state with a Republican-controlled legislature. Hobbs is widely seen as the Democratic state executive most in jeopardy because nearly all the other competitive governor\u2019s races are open seats.<\/p>\n

Her ticket is rare, as politicians in a country increasingly divided by ideological preference have been pulled toward their base. But even as voters have moved toward the extreme, others have rebelled against political parties, with growing numbers calling themselves independent.<\/p>\n

Hobbs is casting herself as a \u201cchampion for every Arizonan.\u201d In selecting her running mate, Hobbs sought out someone who \u201cshared that value of putting Arizonans ahead of partisan politics,\u201d she said in a joint announcement video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Tuesday\u2019s announcement, Giles said he became an independent because \u201cextremists shouldn\u2019t stand in the way of getting things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair will face Rep. Andy Biggs, a five-term congressman who has President Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement. Biggs\u2019s running mate is former Arizona state senator Sine Kerr.<\/p>

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Biggs\u2019s campaign called Giles an \u201caspiring Democrat,\u201d noting his support for Harris, his 2024 Democratic convention speech backing her and his voting in Democratic primaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cArizonans will see this botched, half-baked announcement as just another example of Katie Hobbs\u2019 chaos and incompetence and another reason to vote for Andy Biggs and Sine Kerr in November,\u201d Biggs campaign adviser Drew Sexton said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Their November matchup will mark the first time Arizonans elect both a governor and a lieutenant governor. The state did not have the lieutenant governor post until voters approved creating the office by ballot measure in 2022.<\/p>\n

Hobbs and Giles have been in each other\u2019s orbit for years. During Hobbs\u2019s first gubernatorial run in 2022, Giles endorsed her over his party\u2019s candidate, Trump loyalist Kari Lake. Hobbs narrowly defeated Lake. This year, Giles was also named a member of Hobbs\u2019s \u201cArizona Over Party\u201d coalition, a group of Republican and independent politicians and other leaders supporting her reelection bid as she faces a challenge from another fierce Trump ally.<\/p>\n

Biggs chaired the conservative House Freedom Caucus for three years and was a key part of the Republican push to undermine the 2020 election results<\/a>. Hobbs has acknowledged publicly that the race will be tough.<\/p>\n

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analysis site, has rated the Arizona governor\u2019s race as \u201cLean Democratic.\u201d Of the seven other races that are toss-ups or that slightly favor a party, all but one are open seats. The other incumbent in a competitive race is Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R), who will try to fend off a challenge from Democrat Aaron Ford in November.<\/p>

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Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), facing a tough reelection fight, chose former mayor John Giles, a lifelong Republican who recently became an independent.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nIn a partisan age, a Democratic governor goes outside her brand for a running mate - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8903\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In a partisan age, a Democratic governor goes outside her brand for a running mate - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Arizona Gov. 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