Hobbs reportedly turns to Mesa’s John Giles, setting up a governing test for Arizona’s new No. 2

Gov. Katie Hobbs is poised to run with a Republican on her ticket, with former Mesa mayor John Giles set to be named lieutenant governor, according to a New York Times report cited by the Arizona Globe. Hobbs has not formally announced the pick, but the Globe reported an announcement is expected within days. The cross-party pairing would debut in Arizona’s first election where voters choose a lieutenant governor, and it immediately reframes the fall contest against Republican nominee Andy Biggs and his running mate, former state Sen. Sine Kerr.

The consequence is not cosmetic. Under Proposition 131, the lieutenant governor becomes first in the line of succession and must be assigned a real job under the governor’s authority, such as chief of staff or leading the Arizona Department of Administration. In plain terms, voters are not just picking a spare tire. They are picking who may end up running the state’s basic machinery. Hobbs reportedly chose a business-oriented former mayor from the East Valley; Biggs chose a conservative ex-lawmaker with deep rural and agricultural ties. Those are two very different inaugural models for a brand-new office.

Giles is not a token crossover. The Arizona Globe notes he served a decade as mayor of Arizona’s third-largest city and calls himself a McCain Republican. During his tenure, Mesa added more than 50,000 residents, built out an employment hub around Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, extended light rail into a revitalized downtown with new housing, and secured an Arizona State University campus. City policies in those years included a nondiscrimination ordinance, a Climate Action Plan, and the Mesa College Promise that offers eligible residents free community college tuition. Mesa also attracted substantial business and advanced-manufacturing investment. If Hobbs is betting on competence and suburban credibility, that is the resume she is buying.

Giles’ biography underscores that pitch. A Mesa native and member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he attended Brigham Young University and ASU’s law school, practices government-relations law, and teaches state and local government as an ASU adjunct, per the Globe. He served on the Mesa City Council from 1996 to 2000, including as vice mayor, then won a 2014 special election for mayor and served until January 2025. It is a record rooted in growth management, regional transit, and downtown redevelopment more than Twitter fights.

Politically, Giles has been crossing the aisle for years and taking lumps for it. The Globe recounts that in 2022 he endorsed Democrat Mark Kelly over Blake Masters for the U.S. Senate and Hobbs over Kari Lake for governor, calling the choice one between “sanity and chaos,” drawing censures from GOP organizations in Maricopa County and local districts. Two years later he endorsed Kamala Harris, co-chaired Republicans for Harris in Arizona, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention, while acknowledging disagreements with Democrats on abortion and border policy. That triggered another censure from his local GOP committee. “John McCain’s Republican Party is gone,” he told the convention, “and we don’t owe a damn thing to what’s been left behind,” according to the Globe.

Hobbs rolled out an “Arizona Over Party” coalition this week with Giles listed among dozens of Republican, independent and business supporters, the Globe reported. If she formalizes him as her running mate, the surrogate becomes a potential governing partner with defined responsibilities in state operations. Because this office is brand new, its first occupant will help define its authority and public role. That matters to anyone who cares whether procurement moves, permits get processed, and the lights stay on without drama.

The broader governor’s race is already a knife fight. Arizona Capitol Times reported the attacks began minutes after Biggs won the GOP primary July 21, with Hobbs pushing a digital ad that hits Biggs for supporting Donald Trump’s agenda, including voting for Medicaid cuts and against releasing the Epstein files. The paper also reported Hobbs repeated claims from Republican lawmakers that Biggs, as Senate president, shielded the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints sect by refusing to hear a bill targeting corruption in the Colorado City, Hilldale Police Department. Those are allegations and characterizations Hobbs is amplifying; whether they move voters is another matter.

Biggs swung back with his own digital ad flagging the pay-to-play allegations that have dogged Hobbs since 2024, urging voters not to trust a governor under an “ongoing criminal investigation,” Arizona Capitol Times reported. At issue is a donor to Hobbs’ 2022 campaign who later received a lucrative rate increase as a Department of Child Safety group home contractor. Hobbs’ office maintains the governor did not direct DCS or its director to raise rates. Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, told reporters this week that her office’s investigation is nearing its conclusion with results expected before the election, according to the Capitol Times. One GOP consultant quoted by the paper called the ads “body shots” that add up over time if a campaign has the cash to keep throwing them.

Hobbs has also said she will not participate in a televised debate with Biggs, a decision Arizona political hands predicted, the Capitol Times reported. Republicans point to what the paper described as a record-breaking 541 vetoes over four years as proof Hobbs is mostly a brake on conservative priorities. Biggs, for his part, is still fielding heat over 2020 election denial and close alignment with Trump. Former Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer publicly pressed Biggs for straight answers on the 2020 and 2022 results, while other GOP strategists told the Capitol Times that affordability is likely to matter more to voters.

So what does a Hobbs-Giles ticket mean for border and growth voters who care more about competence than cable hits? The Globe notes Giles has disagreed with Democrats on border policy even as he backed Harris, which at minimum means he is on record acknowledging the issue. Under Prop 131 the lieutenant governor must be appointed to run something operational, like ADOA or the governor’s office. That job touches procurement, real estate, fleet, HR, and the gears that support public-safety agencies and social services. If Hobbs wants to convince skeptical suburban Republicans to cross back over, it will not be the coalition press release that does it. It will be whether her administration can show basic management strength after the DCS rate controversy is resolved and whether her new No. 2, if elected, can run a tight ship.

Voters now face a clear contrast for an untested office: Kerr as a conservative rural ally to Biggs, or Giles as the emblem of Hobbs’ bid to pry away moderates in the East Valley and beyond. The rhetoric will keep flying. The real test for both tickets is whether they can staff up, show their math, and deliver the boring statehouse competence that keeps growth on track and public safety funded. Cross-party branding is fine. Capacity is better. We will find out in November whether Arizona wants the former, the latter, or both. Further announcements on the Hobbs-Giles pairing are expected within days, per the Globe’s report of the Times’ scoop.

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