Arizona GOP – A crowded field of Republican challengers and incumbents is forcing Arizona candidates in statewide races to fight for conservative credibility in primaries while trying not to alienate a growing bloc of independent voters—under the looming question of whether
When Arizona Republicans head to the polls for statewide primaries. they won’t just be choosing nominees to face Democrats in November.. They’ll also be settling a more immediate fight inside the GOP itself—over how much to lean on Donald Trump. how much distance to keep from the party’s louder wings. and whether a once-dominant conservative youth operation can still move voters.
This year’s landscape is crowded and, by GOP standards, fragmented.. There isn’t a single Republican running unopposed in a statewide primary. while most Democrats seeking to keep or flip the same seats will not face meaningful intra-party competition.. Even among incumbents with conservative reputations, challenges from the right are showing up across multiple races.
A core question is whether Republican primary voters can be mobilized to reject candidates positioned as “too” moderate—or whether they’re shifting toward a different style of campaigning.. “That’s a Turning Point thing,” said Chuck Coughlin, a Republican-turned-independent consultant.. “Are they going to be able to marshal Republican voters in opposition to fairly conservative candidates?”
Public support for Trump and the Republican Party has also been a constant drag, pushing candidates onto a tightrope. As each campaign tries to satisfy an engaged GOP base, they’re also trying to keep enough credibility with Arizona’s growing share of independent voters.
In that tension, some conservatives worry Turning Point Action’s influence may be fading in Arizona.. “Turning Point puts their money behind people. and that machine rolls. but it turns off the independent voters. ” said Lisa Everett. the former chair of Legislative District 29 Republicans.. “Since they are the ones that decide the elections in Arizona, we need to figure out how to court them.”
Everett pointed to weaker outcomes for Turning Point-backed candidates in April’s Salt River Project Board elections.
At the same time, polling suggests many down-ballot Republican primary voters remain undecided and uncertain about challengers—some of whom have held elected office before—while the exception is the governor’s race, where polling and money are drawing sharper attention.
Andy Biggs vs. David Schweikert
For governor, U.S. Congressman Andy Biggs is widely viewed as the frontrunner in the GOP primary. His closest rival is fellow Congressman David Schweikert. Most polls show Schweikert behind Biggs by double digits, and fundraising totals show a gap of several hundred thousand dollars.
Biggs, pressed by reporters about Schweikert, said he is trying to unify Republicans for the general election.. “I’m trying to unify the Republican Party right now to win this governor’s race. ” Biggs told reporters on May 5.. “I don’t talk about my primary opponent. because the reality is. I’m staying focused on Governor (Katie) Hobbs. what she’s not doing and what she is doing. and I’m trying to bring that message out.”
Schweikert, who entered the race in October 2025, has argued that Biggs cannot beat Katie Hobbs in November. Speaking to KTAR on May 7, Schweikert said, “The left is so giddy (and) wanting him to be the nominee because you see the polling, he can’t come within 10, 11 points of Katie Hobbs.”
Everett endorsed Schweikert on social media for that reason. while also acknowledging her view isn’t widely echoed in the conservative grassroots.. Everett said Republicans in local meetings have told her privately they plan to support Schweikert but are hesitant to say it publicly.. “They’re afraid to say it out loud. because the other candidates that are supported by these larger organizations are taking up all the oxygen in the room. ” she said.
Still, one wrinkle to Schweikert’s general-election pitch is that some surveys show him performing worse than Biggs against Hobbs.. A February survey from local pollster Noble Predictive Insights found Biggs trailed Hobbs by five points among registered voters. while Schweikert trailed the governor by nine.
Biggs has framed Trump’s endorsement as an advantage rather than a liability.. He is the only candidate in the governor’s race with a Trump endorsement after Karrin Taylor Robson dropped out in February.. Asked about Trump’s political influence. Biggs told reporters on May 5. “If I had an issue. I would just call (Trump) up and say. ‘Hey. what’s going on here?. ’” adding. “I think you need to have somebody in office as the governor here who can actually call up the president … I think those relationships are important. and I think they benefit the state.”
Secretary of State: Alex Kolodin vs. Gina Swoboda
In the secretary of state race, Rep.. Alex Kolodin. R-Scottsdale. was the first candidate to cut into the competition amid rumors of a run by Gina Swoboda. chair of the Republican Party of Arizona and the Legislature’s election policy lead.. Swoboda initially launched a campaign for the 1st Congressional District and then. in early February. filed her statement of interest for the Secretary of State’s Office and pivoted.
Swoboda said she entered because of the work and the people in the office. while criticizing how politicized it has become.. “I love the office so much, and I love the people in it, and I love the work,” Swoboda said.. “And I’m sad by how politicized it’s become. and I’m sad at where I think it will go if this continues for another four years.”
Kolodin has the endorsement of Turning Point Action and is leaning into election-related fears. He has focused on alleged noncitizen voting, promoted the SAVE Act, and said he would cooperate with federal authorities in using their access to state voter rolls.
“In choosing the very first thing that we need to do is partner up with our friends in the federal government who have graciously offered to allow us to use their SAVE Act database to ensure that we don’t have noncitizens on our voter rolls. ” Kolodin said in an interview with former U.S.. Congressman Matt Gaetz.
Swoboda, by contrast, is pitching to independent voters with what she calls competence and calm operations.. “What I want to run on is transparency, accountability and competence.. That’s all I want.. And that’s what I think the voters want.. I think that they are exhausted,” she said.. “The last thing (people) need to worry about is what did the secretary of state do today?. Why do people have to think about that?”
She said she doubts Kolodin can win over the roughly one-third of Arizonans who have no declared party affiliation. Swoboda also argued that election administration requires statewide collaboration, and pointed to a specific dispute as proof the system can fracture.
Swoboda referenced the ongoing legal conflict between the Maricopa County Recorder and the Board of Supervisors.. “It’s a disaster.. I got into the race because I don’t want that to happen on a statewide level,” she said.. “It will dissolve into dysfunction and infighting, and the voters will not have confidence in the process.. Nobody needs that.”
Attorney General: Rodney Glassman vs. Warren Petersen
The attorney general contest has turned into a contest over legal credentials and temperament.
Senate President Warren Petersen and Rodney Glassman, who is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S.. JAG Corps Reserve, are both framing the race as one about experience.. Glassman. a former Tucson City Councilmember. says he is the only candidate who has practiced law—claiming he has taken on clients and prosecuted someone in court.
“My primary opponent is a termed-out career politician. a part time Realtor. and received his law license less than 28 months ago. ” Glassman said.. “He’s never had a client.. He’s never prosecuted a criminal. and he doesn’t even carry professional liability insurance. aka. he doesn’t practice law.. He’s never practiced law.”
Petersen pushed back, noting he is not yet termed out from the Senate and also correcting the timing of Glassman’s critique. Petersen then argued his litigation work helped defend public laws Attorney General Kris Mayes left behind.
“We basically set up a mini Solicitor General’s Office here at the Senate,” Petersen said.
Petersen also questioned Glassman’s repeated candidacies and party switching. “The people, they’re tired of him running for office. If you run twice and lose twice, normal people quit,” he said. “If you run more than twice and you keep running, I think you’re achieving sociopath level.”
Support is split between them.. Glassman has courted backing from Congressman Paul Gosar. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne. Maricopa County Sheriff Jerry Sheridan. and former Senate President Karen Fann.. Petersen’s supporters include Congressman Biggs, a slate of Republican state lawmakers, and attorneys general from Idaho and West Virginia.
During Trump’s recent visit to Arizona, the president declined a formal endorsement but gave Petersen a shoutout from the stage. When Gosar voiced support for Glassman, it drew a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Superintendent of Public Instruction: Tom Horne vs. Kimberly Yee
The race for superintendent of public instruction is also being shaped by the same internal GOP energy—and by disputes over education ideology and oversight.
Tom Horne, a veteran incumbent, is under pressure from the Arizona Freedom Caucus and Turning Point Action, which recruited outgoing Treasurer Kimberly Yee to run against him.
Horne has kept his campaign focused on improving academics and has pointed to the department’s Project Momentum. saying it lifted 80% of schools in the bottom 5% for academic performance to a higher bar.. “That’s an eight-year job, not a four-year job,” Horne said.. “I want to finish the job.. If the voters were to switch horses after four years. somebody else would start all over again and it would never get done.”
He has also continued his fight against critical race theory. diversity. equity and inclusion. and “woke ideology.” Horne didn’t have much to say about Yee beyond accusing her of serving on a Diversity. Equity and Inclusion Committee for the National Association of State Treasurers.. Yee denies that claim and sent a cease and desist letter.
Yee argues academic performance hasn’t improved under Horne. “He’s had four years, and those numbers have not changed,” Yee said. She described what she called chaos in the Department of Education’s management and said she believes Horne has been a “real non-presence” as a statewide official.
The Empowerment Scholarship Account program has become another major point of division within Republicans. with oversight and misuse fears shaping party lines.. Horne says the department is continuing to fine-tune oversight.. Yee. using her treasurer role. points to her request for information to assess the field of financial vendors. saying she did not wade into program policy questions and argued those specifics belong to the Legislature.
“We have a superintendent of public instruction who has exceeded that authority and has gone beyond what an administrator is required to do by the law. ” Yee said.. “And if there ever is a question of administration or properties of educational definitions. those really need to be brought back to the Legislature.”
Corporation Commission: Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson vs. Ralph Heap
At the Corporation Commission, incumbents Nick Myers and Kevin Thompson face a primary challenge from Rep.. Ralph Heap, R-Mesa.. The race also attracted recruitment earlier from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Freedom Caucus. which brought in two state lawmakers to run against the commissioners in the GOP primary.
But that challenge lost momentum when former Rep. David Marshall exited the race to accept a new job as Navajo County recorder. Marshall’s exit leaves Heap alone against the two incumbents.
Heap said the dynamics of having two commissioners with similar energy views weakened his message.. “If you have two people on the commission that have similar ideas in terms of how to produce energy and what we need to do. that’s a stronger position. ” Heap said.. “So that does weaken the message I have and that’s frustrating.”
Heap’s argument is that Myers and Thompson haven’t done enough to end “Green New Deal” policies at Arizona’s utilities and haven’t backed Trump’s coal-focused energy priorities.. He said. “We need to immediately adopt the principles that are in the Trump energy agenda. which are continuing with reliable. affordable fossil fuels. and then move towards nuclear energy as fast as we possibly can.”
Myers and Thompson say they have already delivered on their agenda. including voting to repeal energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements that prior commissions imposed on utilities.. “We’ve delivered the promises that we campaigned on the first time. which was to eliminate the Green New Deal. eliminate mandates and subsidies. ” Thompson said.
Myers said the pair supports an “all of the above” approach and argued natural gas is more affordable and reliable than solar or wind. He also said they’ve tried to reduce utility budgets in rate cases, while acknowledging customers remain pressured by high bills.
“We’ve been saving as much money as we possibly can and trying to keep those rate increases as low as we can, but we’re fighting an uphill battle when it comes to the weather and the things that we don’t have control over,” Myers said.
Both incumbents say their focus is the general election rather than defeating Heap in the primary.. “We’re just going to continue focusing on things that got us here. and talk about the great things the commission has done over the last three years and hope that the people of Arizona see that and decide they want to keep us in place. ” Thompson said.
Treasurer: Elijah Norton vs. Katherine Haley
In the treasurer’s race, Katherine Haley, president of the State Board of Education, challenged Elijah Norton, the former treasurer for the AZGOP, with backing from sitting Treasurer Kimberly Yee.
Norton says he has the most relevant experience. citing his role guarding AZGOP coffers and his leadership of Veritas Global Protection Services. an international vehicle insurance company.. “I don’t just have business experience.. I also have experience investing money,” Norton said.. “And that’s literally the treasurer’s job, the chief Banking and Investment Officer of Arizona.”
Haley argues her public service background makes her better prepared. highlighting experience on the State Board of Education overseeing district budgets and the Empowerment Scholarship Account program.. “It’s about the mentality of service.. It’s focused on Arizona taxpayers and what they need, rather than personal interest,” Haley said.. “My opponent has a life career in sales. and I think that is just a different skillset than one that is focused on Arizona taxpayers.”
Norton, though, said straw polls at legislative district meetings have gone his way. At the Legislative District 27 meeting on May 12, he said a straw poll yielded 68 votes for him and four for Haley.
“When people actually get into the weeds, and they listen to us talk about policy. There’s an obvious dichotomy, that she does not have the experience,” Norton said.
The result of all these races is an increasingly crowded Republican primary calendar that functions as a test of messaging strategy as much as ideology.. With independents playing a decisive role and Trump’s standing shaping expectations. Arizona’s GOP nominees are being chosen in a contest where the hardest question isn’t just who can beat Democrats—it’s who can hold together a coalition inside the party without losing the voters needed to win beyond it.
Arizona politics GOP primary Donald Trump Turning Point Action Andy Biggs David Schweikert Alex Kolodin Gina Swoboda Attorney General Warren Petersen Rodney Glassman Tom Horne Kimberly Yee Corporation Commission Nick Myers Kevin Thompson Ralph Heap Elijah Norton Katherine Haley