Arizona’s Gubernatorial Primary by the Numbers
Andy Biggs sets a GOP record for a non-incumbent in his blowout victory
July has largely been summer break for state primaries, although Arizona voters had their chance to weigh in on their candidate preferences on Tuesday.
At the top of the ticket, Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs ran unopposed for her party’s nomination.
That marked just the third time a Democratic governor did not face any opposition in his or her quest for another term out of 20 renomination bids dating back to statehood.
Hobbs joins Gov. Ernest McFarland who ran unopposed for a second term in 1956 and Gov. Janet Napolitano who did the same in 2006.
Each of the first 14 times a Democratic governor sought reelection there was at least one opponent on the primary ballot. Ten were victorious:
- George Hunt in 1914, 1916, 1924, 1926, and 1928
- Benjamin Moeur in 1934
- Sidney Osborn in 1942, 1944, and 1946
- Dan Garvey in 1948
Four others lost renomination:
- 1932: Gov. George Hunt lost to Tempe Normal School Board member Benjamin Moeur by 6.2 points
- 1936: Gov. Moeur was defeated by former Maricopa County Judge Rawghlie Stanford by 12.0 points
- 1940: Gov. Robert Jones came up 4.5 points short to former Arizona Secretary of State Sidney Osborn
- 1950: Gov. Dan Garvey lost to State Auditor Ana Frohmiller by 6.6 points
Other Democratic governors winning renomination in contested primaries were Sam Goddard in 1966 and Bruce Babbitt in 1978 and 1982.
By contrast, Republican governors have run unopposed in eight of 12 attempts:
- Tom Campbell in 1922
- John Phillips in 1930
- John Howard Pyle in 1952 and 1954
- Paul Fannin in 1960 and 1962
- Jack Williams in 1968 and 1970
The remaining four gubernatorial incumbents were also nominated in their bids for another term for a perfect 12-for-12: Fife Symington (1994), Jane Dee Hull (1998), Jan Brewer (2010), and Doug Ducey (2018).
In Tuesday’s Republican race, with nearly 85 percent of the vote counted, U.S. Representative Andy Biggs pummeled his three opponents with a ~59-point victory over fellow U.S. House delegation member David Schweikert. Biggs is poised to carry at least 70 percent of the vote in each of the state’s 15 counties.
Biggs’ victory margin will easily go down as the largest in a GOP primary by a non-incumbent – besting Phoenix accountant Jerrie Lee’s 42.6-point win in 1944 against Arizona Citrus Growers’ Association president Harry Michael to seal his fourth consecutive Republican gubernatorial nomination.
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– Schweikert apparently lost even his own House district to Biggs as well.
– Unrelated: There are at least two more contests that pit Congressional incumbents seeking other offices. On 6 of August the TN Republican gubernatorial primary election will feature US Representative John Rose and US Senator Marsha Blackburn (astonishingly, the primary could also have been contested by US Senator Bill Hagerty and even secretary of “war” Hegseth but, alas, the voters were ‘spared’ of the spectacle of a federal cabinet officer and both US senators seeking the office of governor). Just 5 days later, the SC Republican special Senate primary election will feature US Representatives Russell Fry and Ralph Norman – as well as appointed incumbent Senator Darline Nordone. For Norman, it will mark the *second* time in the same year that he will be opposed by a sitting Congress Member seeking another office (weeks prior, Norman and Nancy Mace competed for governor, with neither even making it to the runoff).
In that TN race, neither Gov. Lee nor President Trump endorsed. In fact, of the 10 retiring or term-limited GOP governors, only four endorsed their party’s would-be successor, and two of those four who did endorse backed eventual losing candidates (Kemp & McMaster).