GOP candidate Biggs lists actions he pledges to take if elected AZ governor

In a news conference on the lawn of the state Senate, where he previously served as president, Biggs vowed to totally eliminate tax incentives for data centers, allow Arizona restaurants to serve raw milk, limit the number of short-term rentals that can be owned by investors, support more nuclear power in Arizona, and limit the use of food stamps to purchase "junk food'' and soda.

He also wants to increase the scope of the already universal Empowerment Scholarship Account program by finding ways to provide more accessibility to students in inner-city and rural areas who do not now have easy access to private and parochial schools.

And with just slightly more than two weeks until early voting starts, he also vowed to do something Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has not done: Allow Arizona students to take advantage of a new federal tax credit program to fund scholarships for not just private schools but, in some cases, for students in public schools.

But while providing a laundry list of what he will do in the future, the current Republican congressman would not answer questions about his own record. That includes his repeated support of an increasingly unpopular war in Iran and of the extensive tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, both of which already have had an economic impact on Arizonans.

"Tell me when I voted for it once,'' Biggs said in response to a question about his support for the war. He quickly sought to change the subject from what he has done in the past to what he says he will do in the future.

"We're talking today about a positive, optimistic vision for the state,'' he said.

But the record shows that Biggs voted six times this year against a U.S. House resolution directing the president to withdraw U.S. forces from hostilities in Iran. Several of these measures were approved as several House Republicans, saying they were concerned about the length of the conflict and the lack of clear goals, sided with Democrats. They all stalled in the Senate.

Pushed further, Biggs did not dispute that war has driven up the price of gasoline and diesel. But he said there wasn't much he could do about it.

"I expressed myself to the president, I expressed myself to his team,'' Biggs said, calling the higher fuel prices "an unfortunate reality.''

Here, too, he deflected. "That's not why Arizona's not affordable, solely,'' Biggs said.

He said the same high gas and diesel prices affect residents of every state. And Biggs said that can't be blamed for the fact that Arizona, once considered one of the most affordable states, now ranks near the bottom.

Biggs did not answer questions about his support of the presidentially imposed tariffs.

Some of what the GOP nominee promised Tuesday to do if elected lacks specifics.

For example, he wants to eliminate the state income tax.

It currently generates an estimated $6 billion, about a third of the nearly $18 billion in tax revenues. It is exceeded only by sales and use taxes at about $8.7 billion.

Biggs insisted his plan does not mean other taxes will go up or that services will need to be cut. He said the record in Arizona has shown that tax cuts stimulate the economy, with no decline in overall state revenues.

Still, he said, any changes would be done "incrementally.''

Campaign aides to incumbent Hobbs have countered by suggesting that Biggs' actual plan is to institute a 23% sales tax on all items. Biggs did sponsor such a plan — but at the federal level.

The Fair Tax Act also would have replaced taxes on income, payroll, estate and gift taxes.

Much of what is in Biggs' list of promises is direct reactions to things done — or not done — by Hobbs. Among those on the list:

• Repeal an executive order she issued last year to expedite the ability to place renewable energy projects like solar and wind on state lands, some of which have drawn objections from nearby property owners.

• Promote more nuclear power plants. Hobbs vetoed legislation earlier this year to fast-track the development of small nuclear reactors by exempting them from local zoning regulations.

• Mandate disclosure of political donations by those seeking state contracts. Hobbs, under investigation for the handling of a contract increase given to a major donor, vetoed such a bill twice.

• Have the state depend more on groundwater, which Biggs said is in plentiful supply. Hobbs has rejected various proposals she said would undermine the protection of the state's water supply.

• Permit college and university students 18 and older to opt out of required immunizations. The governor called the bill unnecessary. 

• Opt into the federal Education Freedom Tax Credits to allow students in Arizona who meet income requirements to get scholarships both for private schools and for tutoring, after-school programs and transportation. Hobbs vetoed a bill to do that, saying she wanted to see if the program, which involves no state dollars, has sufficient guardrails. 

• Limit purchases made with food stamps. Lawmakers approved such a plan in 2025 only to have it vetoed by Hobbs, who said it relegates SNAP recipients to "a new underclass of grocery shoppers.''

• Eliminate tax breaks for data centers. Hobbs proposed this in January, but the state's final budget included only a three-year moratorium on the tax breaks.

Some actions Biggs is promising on his list, however, have nothing to do with Hobbs:

• Allowing restaurants and coffee bars to serve raw milk. Individuals can purchase raw milk at grocery stores, but under state regulation it cannot be served at commercial establishments.

• Blocking corporate investors from buying up a large number of homes and converting them into short-term rentals. There was a bill to do that, but it was killed when a Republican lawmaker refused to give it a hearing.

• Giving cities more control over short-term rentals. This would overturn legislation signed by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in 2016, which stripped cities of any regulatory powers or authority to impose limits.