who can – At a Wednesday debate in Phoenix, U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert framed themselves as the Republican most able to beat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in Arizona’s July 21 primary. Biggs—endorsed by President Donald Trump—said he’s the most competitive
PHOENIX — In the debate Wednesday, the Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor didn’t just trade policy arguments. They went after the same question, again and again: who is the better candidate to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in a state grappling with affordability struggles.
U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs. the GOP primary’s frontrunner and the recipient of President Donald Trump’s endorsement. stepped into that spotlight by insisting he was the one with broad enough reach to flip the race. He told the crowd. “There’s not a doubt in my mind. if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find. I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state.”.
Biggs said his case rests on his ability to cross party lines and on what he argues is the experience required to run the state.
U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, meanwhile, leaned into a different pitch. Having survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years. he said his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to Arizona are what set him apart. He criticized the other Republican opponents—calling Biggs and the rest “wonderful people”—but added that they “never actually been in the great battle.”.
The stakes of that argument were made sharper by a warning delivered after the debate by businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022. Neely said that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.
The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who is running unopposed in the primary.
Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs. At one point, he was chairman of the ultra-right U.S. House Freedom Caucus. Before Congress, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate.
His political record includes fights with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer over Medicaid expansion in 2013, along with pushing school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.
Biggs is also among Trump’s top defenders in Congress. He supported Trump’s false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.
Schweikert’s biography is longer on electoral survival and fiscal alarms. He has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and, in the 2000s, as Maricopa County’s treasurer.
Known as a budget hawk. Schweikert has made a habit of railing against government debt. sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. He has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, but also called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.
That reputation, however, has been marred by ethics scandals. In 2022, Schweikert received a $125,000 fine from the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years earlier. he agreed to pay a $50. 000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics.
In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert said he successfully staved off challenges from Democrats.
Biggs and Schweikert also diverged as Arizona grapples with cost pressures, even as both men tried to connect those frustrations to their own plans.
Biggs pointed to Arizona’s recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers—an effort Hobbs has also touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, arguing that data centers use large amounts of power and water.
Schweikert described Arizona’s affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but pushed back on the idea that consumer prices will come down on their own. He said he would aggressively recruit businesses to the state and push for wage growth.
The candidates were pressed on healthcare as well. With expired healthcare subsidies for those covered under the Affordable Care Act hanging over the issue, Schweikert said, “We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work.”
Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs. He also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts, so people can manage insurance and health costs “as they see fit.”
Arizona governor race Katie Hobbs Andy Biggs David Schweikert July 21 primary Trump endorsement affordability healthcare subsidies data centers campaign finance ethics
So which one is actually gonna beat Katie Hobbs or are they just arguing on stage again?
Biggs saying he’s most competitive like it’s a fact… ok sure. Meanwhile affordability is the whole problem and they’re still fighting over who has the better vibes or whatever.
Wait Scott Neely said if Biggs wins they lose the election?? That sounds like inside baseball stuff. Also I’m confused because didn’t Schweikert already survive all those battles or is that the same story just repeated?
This is why Arizona can’t catch a break, just two guys posturing at a debate like it matters more than prices at the grocery store. Biggs getting the Trump endorsement doesn’t magically make him the “most competitive,” it just makes the headlines. And Schweikert saying they “never been in the great battle” is such a weird flex when the whole state is struggling.