A crucial deadline in the hotly-contested 2026 Arizona governor's race is just hours away on Friday. That means Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) still has time to screw up her pick for lieutenant governor.
Earlier this week, legacy media lapdogs The New York Times did her reelection campaign a favor with this scoop floating the possibility that a "longtime Republican" mayor might become her running mate.
SCOOP w/ @Kellen_Browning @ReisThebault --
— Sejal Govindarao (@sejalg_) August 5, 2026
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona plans to tap a longtime Republican and former mayor of Mesa, Ariz., John Giles, to serve as her running mate, according to two people familiar with the decision. https://t.co/ip3zNNw3IV
The piece claims that sources close to both Giles and Hobbs told The NYT that he was the pick.
The official deadline on gubernatorial running mates is 60 days before the November election, but the AZ Secretary of State's office told both Republican nominee Rep. Andy Biggs' (AZ-05) and Hobbs' campaign that the running mate's name needed to be submitted before Friday, Aug. 7 to give them time to print the general election ballots.
As I wrote about a week ago, Biggs announced that his running mate is Sine Kerr, a pro-life conservative champion, dairy farmer, and former Arizona state senator.
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The clock is ticking still for Gov. Hobbs to announce her lieutenant governor nod, though, and on Thursday, someone's finally stating the obvious: if she does pick Giles, it does not magically make her bipartisan.
The Republican Party of Arizona's Chairman Sergio Arellano put out a statement which began by exposing Mayor Giles' longtime kabuki theater for what it is:
To be clear, this political theater needs to stop.
John Giles may no longer call himself a Republican, but his actions have aligned him with Democrats for years. On May 17, 2026, after nearly forty years as a registered Republican, he left the Republican Party, registered as No Party Preference, and pulled a Democratic primary ballot. That is a matter of public record.
AZGOP Chair Arellano Statement:
— Republican Party of Arizona (@AZGOP) August 6, 2026
Long before changing his voter registration, Giles had already made his choice. He endorsed Kamala Harris for President, spoke at the Democratic National Convention, endorsed Katie Hobbs, and repeatedly attacked the Republican Party and the…
Long before changing his voter registration, Giles had already made his choice. He endorsed Kamala Harris for President, spoke at the Democratic National Convention, endorsed Katie Hobbs, and repeatedly attacked the Republican Party and the conservative movement that helped elect him.
John Giles didn't suddenly change when he changed his voter registration. His paperwork simply caught up with the political choices he'd been making for years.
His statement continued with the larger problem Hobbs has: being honest with voters:
"It is not surprising that Governor Hobbs is trying to pull a fast one on Arizona voters by pretending to act in a bipartisan fashion. Frankly, it’s her only hope. Unfortunately for her, Arizona voters are smarter than that. They know the difference between genuine bipartisanship and political theater, and they won’t be fooled by a last-minute rebranding campaign.
"Truth be told, I still don’t believe John Giles will ultimately be her choice. Given his lack of political accomplishments and his phony Republican credentials, I wouldn’t be surprised if Governor Hobbs eventually turns to Chief of Staff Chad Campbell instead. That decision might make a handful of her deep-pocketed political cronies very happy, but it would also expose this entire bipartisan charade for exactly what it is—a political marketing campaign, not a governing philosophy. Frankly, Hobbs choosing Campbell would make my job even easier.
...
"Governor Hobbs can change running mates. She can’t change her record. Arizona voters haven’t forgotten the vetoes, the failed priorities, or the direction this state has taken over the last four years. We look forward to defeating Governor Hobbs—Arizona’s ‘Veto Queen’—and whoever ultimately joins her ticket this November."
In case you missed my previous writing on Hobbs, the title is not an exaggeration; Governor Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) had what seemed like a forever record on vetoes, with local progressive rag The Phoenix New Times proudly cheering her vetoes of "181 bills from 2003-09." During Hobbs' first two years in office, she wielded the veto pen 216 times.
In 2026, that veto tally for the uber-partisan Hobbs? 151.
No one who lives here in the Copper State is fooled by John Giles' boasting about being a "longtime Republican." It's a convenient label he slaps on to try to stay in the good graces of the media. If someone had a news camera, he was in front of it during the 2024 presidential cycle. Indeed, less than two weeks after Vice President Kamala Harris launched her run for president, Giles signed on as an early endorsee.
Anyway, Hobbs could do the lamest thing ever in the next few hours — which is totally on brand for her.
Arizonans know well that Giles has supported progressive Democrats for years, including acting as co-chair/Republicans for Kamala Harris in 2024. Lame, if true.
— Becca Lower (@BeccaJLower) August 5, 2026
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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