Republican Andy Biggs said during a gubernatorial debate that he can win over independent voters because of his record of bipartisanship, citing a handful of congressional Democrats he's worked with over the years.
Some of those Democrats say Biggs' record tells a different story.
In interviews or comments to The Arizona Republic, two of those mentioned by Biggs onstage reminded Arizonans that Biggs is one of the most conservative members of Congress.
"Hyper-partisan members suddenly touting bipartisanship during election season really doesn't pass the smell test," Natalia Cárdenas, a spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, said in a statement. She noted that Kelly "works with everyone in the delegation on Arizona's shared priorities, including water."
Biggs, Kelly and the rest of Arizona's congressional delegation urged the federal government to release water from Utah's Flaming Gorge reservoir to help Lake Powell earlier this year. Biggs touted that at the debate, and also said he worked with Democratic Rep. Greg Stanton to request the Bureau of Reclamation release $350 million for drought mitigation.
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"I don't think there'd be very many people in Congress that would describe Andy Biggs as a bipartisan member of Congress," Stanton said, noting that Biggs fiercely opposed the bills that earmarked that water funding in the first place.
"The original source of this money was the very bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act, both of which Congressman Biggs voted against," he said. "There are many times in which there are bills put before the Congress that are very non-controversial, and the vote will be, you know, 430 to 5, and Biggs will be one of the five. He's a former chairman of the Freedom Caucus, which is the least bipartisan group in the entire United States Congress."
Biggs' presence in the minuscule minority on those votes has made him what one scholar dubbed the "‘no’-men of Capitol Hill.”
Biggs, in an interview with The Arizona Republic, downplayed the criticism from Kelly and Stanton because they are supporting Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' campaign for a second term. Biggs is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the July 21 primary.
In June, Rep. Andy Biggs claimed in a debate with his Republican opponents in the primary race for Arizona governor that he could appeal to independent voters because of his record of bipartisanship. A claim some lawmakers dispute.
"Those two guys both endorsed Katie Hobbs," Biggs said. "They've taken a partisan point of view to say ... that I'm really hyper-partisan. But they know that we reach out where we can, we work with each other. And that's the point I was making."
Yet it was not just Democrats raising their eyebrows at Biggs' claim. His Republican rivals seeking the party's nomination for governor also quickly dismissed him as partisan after the June 17 debate.
Biggs' appeal to independents was notable coming from a gubernatorial campaign that has touted one analysis that said Biggs was "the most pro-Trump current Member of Congress" in 2024. Biggs ranked second only to now-Vice President JD Vance.
In 2023, Biggs was the 389th most partisan in the 435-member House, according to The Lugar Center and Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. The entities rank lawmakers on a bipartisan index that factors in bill sponsorships and congress-wide averages, among other factors.
In addition to working with Kelly and Stanton on water issues, Biggs in the debate named a bill he sponsored with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, now the Democrats' minority leader, to require more reporting from lobbyists. Biggs has been using that example of his ability to work across the aisle since at least 2019.
He also named Kyrsten Sinema, with whom he worked on legislation to allow patients access to experimental medications when Sinema was in the House. Neither Jeffries nor Sinema responded to requests for comment.
Biggs repeatedly blasted Hobbs during the debate for her leadership, including ongoing investigations of her ties to a state contractor and major political donor. Hobbs' campaign spokesperson Michael Beyer responded by saying that Biggs was "one of the most extreme and partisan politicians to ever run for governor," noting a list of bipartisan votes in which he was among a small number of members opposed. Those include extending Affordable Care Act subsidies and the nation's most expansive housing reform and affordability bill in decades.
Fox News earlier this year analyzed House members who broke ranks and voted against their party's majority in 2025, ranking Biggs ninth among the 10 most likely to do so. That is also a testament to how aligned House Republicans as a whole are with Trump and how infrequently they diverge: Biggs voted against his fellow Republicans just 14.2% of the time, according to the Fox News report.
But Biggs contended that being willing to split with most members of his own party proved he wasn't hyper-partisan.
"That isn't a hyper-partisan guy," Biggs said. "That's a person that's looking at the issues and trying to do what I think is best that's consistent with the Constitution, best for the state of Arizona and best for the nation."
Biggs, in the interview, cited other times he's aligned with his liberal counterparts. Those include his bill that passed the House unanimously this year, which would require federal agencies to develop plans to prevent fraud during emergencies and pandemics. Another that cleared the House would make it a crime to coerce a minor to harm themselves, which Biggs' office said was a response to online targeting of minors.
But Stanton said it was Hobbs who had a longer list of bipartisan wins, pointing to the state's latest budget as one example.
"It's always easy to vote 'no' on everything because there's always something that you don't like about the bill," Stanton said. "But the art of governing is fighting for your values, but ultimately reaching compromise so things can move forward for the people that you represent. I think the governor's done a really good job on that. And that's not been a skill set demonstrated consistently by Congressman Biggs."
