Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs selected former Mesa Mayor John Giles, a longtime Republican who recently became unaffiliated, as her running mate Tuesday, betting a bipartisan ticket can attract moderate Republicans and independents in her reelection contest against Republican Rep. Andy Biggs.
Giles told the Deseret News the ticket would seek to “lower the political temperature” and offer voters a less divisive approach. He argued that continued polarization is bad politics and said he has had no policy disagreements with Hobbs since endorsing her in 2022.
The former mayor led Mesa from 2014 through 2025. Giles broke publicly with President Donald Trump, backed Kamala Harris in 2024 and changed his voter registration to no party preference in May, The Associated Press reported. Hobbs said she wanted a running mate who would put Arizonans ahead of partisan politics.
Biggs dismissed the selection as a “cynical attempt” to win East Valley voters who might not otherwise support Hobbs. He argued that Giles’ agreement with the Governor’s agenda undercuts his claim to moderation. Biggs, a Trump-backed conservative, selected former state Sen. Sine Kerr, a Buckeye farmer with deep rural ties, as his own running mate.
The matchup creates contrasting appeals within Arizona’s politically important East Valley. Giles and Biggs are both members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University graduates and longtime figures in the region, but they represent sharply different approaches to Trump and Republican politics.
Arizona voters created the Lieutenant Governor’s office by approving Proposition 131 in 2022. The new official will replace the Secretary of State as first in the line of succession and may serve as the governor’s chief of staff or lead a state agency.
Hobbs and Giles will face Biggs and Kerr in the Nov. 3 general election.
