Appeal to center could be key for Hobbs as she seeks reelection
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Gov. Katie Hobbs speaks in Tucson on Nov. 1, 2025, as she campaigns for reelection. Photo: Rebecca Noble/Getty Images
While Democrats across the country have made opposition to President Trump their signature issue, Gov. Katie Hobbs is hewing closer to the center, picking and choosing her spots as she seeks reelection in traditionally red Arizona.
The big picture: To win statewide in Arizona, Democrats have traditionally had to appeal to moderate and center-right voters.
- The Republican-controlled Legislature has limited Hobbs' ability to advance her agenda, forcing her to find ways to promote Democratic policies on issues like abortion rights and child care while highlighting bipartisan achievements.
State of play: Hobbs was buoyed in 2022 by Republican nominee Kari Lake, a MAGA firebrand whom GOP lobbyist and consultant Brian Murray termed a "disaster."
- Things are likely to be different this time around. Many Democrats are hopeful that Republicans will nominate U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a MAGA favorite who previously led the House Freedom Caucus.
- But Democrats should be careful what they wish for, said Murray, who predicted Biggs would be a tough opponent.
- Biggs is more disciplined and politically savvy than Lake, many Republicans say, and won't make the same mistakes that cost her the race.
Zoom in: After last year's presidential election, Hobbs declined to join other Democratic governors who formed an anti-Trump resistance.
- She said she would "work with anyone who wants to deliver real border security," but has been vocal in opposition to other Trump policies on issues like tariffs and SNAP benefits.
- Campaign spokesperson Michael Beyer told Axios policies like canceling medical debt, promoting affordable child care, cracking down on cross-border fentanyl trafficking and protecting water will appeal to right-of-center voters.
The other side: Undermining Hobbs' attempts to present a bipartisan image is her record-breaking veto count.
- She's twice broken the state's single-year record, nixing 143 bills in 2023 — the previous record was 58 — and 174 this year.
- Hobbs can try to portray herself as a centrist, but she's still a Democrat in a Republican-leaning state, and there's likely nothing she can do to inoculate herself against that, said GOP operative and former Republican Governors Association political director J.P. Twist.
Between the lines: Beyer said Hobbs also has an advantage because she doesn't face a primary, while Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson and David Schweikert will have to slug it out — and spend ample amounts of money — in the Republican primary.
Flashback: Arizona voters haven't rejected an incumbent governor since 1966, when Republican Jack Williams ousted Gov. Sam Goddard.