Hobbs Reportedly Taps Republican John Giles for Lieutenant Governor

Gov. Katie Hobbs plans to name former Mesa Mayor John Giles, a Republican, as her running mate, The New York Times reported Tuesday, creating an unusual cross-party ticket for Arizona’s first election in which voters will choose a lieutenant governor.

Hobbs hasn’t formally announced the selection, but an announcement is expected within days. The Democratic ticket would face Republican nominee Andy Biggs and his running mate, former state Sen. Sine Kerr. If Hobbs wins, Giles would become Arizona’s first lieutenant governor.

Giles is not an obscure Republican recruited solely for the ticket. He served for a decade as mayor of Arizona’s third-largest city and describes himself as a “McCain Republican.” But he has also spent the past four years endorsing Democrats—including Hobbs, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly and Kamala Harris—and denouncing the Trump-aligned candidates who now dominate his party. The selection would turn Giles from a prominent Republican surrogate for Hobbs into a potential governing partner.

A Mesa native, Giles is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He attended Brigham Young University and Arizona State University’s law school. He now practices government relations law and teaches state and local government as an ASU adjunct professor.

Giles served on the Mesa City Council from 1996 to 2000, including two years as vice mayor. He won a nonpartisan special election as mayor in 2014 and remained in office until January 2025.

During Giles’ tenure, Mesa added more than 50,000 residents, developed a major employment center around Mesa Gateway Airport and revitalized its downtown through light rail, new housing and an ASU campus. Among the policies the city adopted were a nondiscrimination ordinance, Mesa’s Climate Action Plan and the Mesa College Promise, which offers eligible residents free community-college tuition. Mesa also attracted substantial business and advanced-manufacturing investment during those years.

Giles’ break with Arizona’s Republican establishment became unmistakable in 2022. He endorsed Kelly over Blake Masters and Hobbs over Kari Lake. He appeared at a Democratic rally headlined by former President Barack Obama and described the election as a choice between “sanity and chaos.”

Republican officials in Maricopa County and several local legislative districts censured him. Giles responded: “I am a Republican, whether other people like that or not. I feel like the party has taken a sharp turn away from me. I hope they come back.”

Two years later, Giles endorsed Harris, co-chaired the Arizona chapter of Republicans for Harris and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Although he acknowledged disagreements with Democrats on abortion and border policy, he argued that Harris would govern closer to the political center and was preferable to Trump. That prompted the Republican committee in Arizona’s 10th Legislative District to censure Giles. As the Arizona Globe reported at the time, the resolution called on “voters in Mesa to heed this vote of no confidence, cease recognition of Mayor Giles as a Republican in good standing, and cease support for John Giles in any elected or appointed capacity.”

“John McCain’s Republican Party is gone,” Giles told the convention, “and we don’t owe a damn thing to what’s been left behind.”

The Road to Hobbs’ Ticket

On June 26, Giles endorsed Hobbs for reelection.

“After years in Washington, Andy Biggs has become part of the problem,” Giles said in a statement released by the Hobbs campaign. “He’s too focused on hyperpartisan politics instead of delivering for Arizona.”

On Monday, Hobbs formally launched her “Arizona Over Party” coalition, with Giles among dozens of Republican, independent and business supporters. The Times reported his expected selection for the ticket the following day.

The role would be significantly more than an honorary campaign position. Voters created the lieutenant-governor office through Proposition 131 in 2022. The lieutenant governor will replace the secretary of state as first in the line of succession.

The governor must also appoint the lieutenant governor to serve as chief of staff, lead the Arizona Department of Administration or fill another position under the governor’s authority. Because the office is new, its first occupant will help define its authority and public role.

Biggs chose Kerr, a conservative former legislator and dairy farmer with strong rural and agricultural ties. Hobbs reportedly chose a business-oriented former mayor rooted in Mesa and the East Valley, betting that Giles can strengthen her appeal among moderate Republicans and independents who have helped Democrats win recent statewide races.

The competing selections give Arizona voters two very different inaugural models for the office: Kerr as a conservative rural ally of Biggs, and Giles as the embodiment of Hobbs’ effort to separate Arizona Republicans from the party’s Trump-aligned leadership.