Gov. Katie Hobbs has reportedly picked a moderate Republican-turned-independent to be her running mate in her bid for reelection.
The New York Times says that Hobbs, facing a Friday deadline set by the Secretary of State's Office, has tapped former Mesa Mayor John Giles to be on the ticket with her. Hobbs' campaign spokesman Michael Beyer would neither confirm nor deny that a decision has been made.
"We have been consistently declining to comment on the process,'' he said late Tuesday.
The reported pick of Giles to be Hobbs' running mate as her lieutenant governor comes as she has made a point of emphasizing her ability to work in a bipartisan fashion.
Earlier Tuesday, she unveiled her Arizona Over Party coalition of more than 50 Republicans and political independents she said are supporting her. Hobbs said that shows how different she is than Congressman Andy Biggs, the Republican nominee for governor, whom she accuses of being a hyper-partisan supporter of President Donald Trump.
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By contrast, Giles has long since parted ways with his party — even before he dropped the GOP label earlier this year and reregistered as an independent.
He revealed to NPR that he voted for Joe Biden in 2020. But he said that was more out of fear of what it would mean to the country for Trump to get a second term.
In 2022 Giles endorsed not only Hobbs in her bid for a first term as governor but also backed Democrat Mark Kelly in his successful run for the U.S. Senate.
Two years later he was given a prime time slot at the Democratic National Convention.
"I have a confession to make: I'm a lifelong Republican,'' Giles told the audience in Chicago and those watching on TV. "So I feel a little out of place tonight. But I feel more at home here than in today's Republican Party.''
Giles also said the GOP has become "the cult of Donald Trump,'' saying the then-former president made a lot of promises "but couldn't deliver a thing.''
Then, when Joe Biden bowed out of his reelection bid, Giles issued a statement saying that while he did not always agree with the then-president, "I never doubted his commitment to defending the Constitution,'' commending Biden's "leadership, bipartisanship, and dedication to this country."
Giles then went on to actively back Kamala Harris for president.
But Giles, whose position as Mesa mayor from 2014 through 2025 was officially nonpartisan, also told PBS in 2024 he was not ready to leave the Republican Party.
"I am more comfortable in terms of political positions in the Republican Party than I am in the Democratic Party,'' he said.
Giles also said at the time that Democrats appeared to favor "open borders.'' And he described himself as "pro-life.''
"I didn't leave the Republican Party,'' he said then. "The Republican Party is trying desperately to leave me.''
Yet Giles did decide to leave the party earlier this year, according to records at the Maricopa County Recorder's Office. He did not return messages Wednesday seeking an explanation.
The Biggs campaign wasted no time in jumping on the New York Times report Tuesday, constructing a website calling Hobbs and Giles "Kamala and Tim's choice for governor,'' the latter a reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris' 2024 running mate. The site also contains links to various news stories about Giles' attendance at the DNC and his endorsement of Harris.
Biggs, by contrast, chose former state Sen. Sine Kerr, a Buckeye farmer and a conservative Republican like himself, as his running mate.
This is the first year Arizonans will get a ballot with the names of the governor and lieutenant governor candidates running as a ticket.
Until now, the Arizona Constitution said that when a governor died in office, quit to take another job, got criminally indicted, or was impeached and convicted — all of which have happened at times in Arizona — the next in line of succession was the secretary of state.
But the secretary of state might not have been from the same party as the governor being replaced, nor inclined to continue the same policies. That most recently occurred in 2009 when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, less than two years into her second term, quit to take a job in the newly elected Obama administration. That put Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer into the top job.
It also has gone the other way. Democratic Secretary of State Rose Mofford became governor in 1988 after the Legislature impeached and convicted Republican Gov. Evan Mecham.
Voters approved the change to add a lieutenant governor position in 2022, effective with this year's election.
Howard Fischer is a veteran journalist who has been reporting since 1970 and covering state politics and the Legislature since 1982. Follow him on X, Bluesky and Threads at @azcapmedia or email azcapmedia@gmail.com.
