Robson Buys a Boost with Huge Self-Funding Bump

Karrin Taylor Robson is once again leaning heavily on personal wealth to stay competitive in Arizona’s Republican gubernatorial primary, raising eyebrows about the depth of her grassroots support. According to newly filed campaign finance reports, Robson has pumped $2.2 million of her own money into her campaign — the lion’s share of her total $2.8 million haul. While it’s helped her flood Arizona’s airwaves with early ads touting Trump’s dual endorsement of her and Congressman Andy Biggs, critics say it’s a strategy that paper-masks a weak base.

Robson’s ad blitz, which ran heavily through the spring before going dark in June, cost nearly everything she has self-funded. With just under $900,000 left in the bank, Robson’s campaign may be burning through cash faster than she can bring in outside support.

This isn’t the first time Robson has tried to buy momentum. In her failed 2022 bid for the GOP nomination, she shelled out $22 million of her fortune — and still lost.

Robson has been crisscrossing Arizona, aggressively promoting her rare shared endorsement from President Trump, who qualified his early endorsement by stating he was behind Robson and Biggs. The gubernatorial hopeful has appeared at a wide range of events, making a clear push to build grassroots momentum and broaden her statewide support base.

Just wrapped our 44th campaign event this month with the @AZTeenReps.

I got my start as a teenage Republican, it’s so great to see these young leaders getting in the fight! pic.twitter.com/5JlDUzy2wK

— Karrin Taylor Robson for AZ Gov (@KTaylorRobson) July 1, 2025

While Robson pays for airtime, others in the race are demonstrating actual donor enthusiasm. Incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs raised $1.3 million from contributors last quarter and sits on a $4.7 million war chest. Biggs, meanwhile, saw his best fundraising quarter to date and is receiving serious help from conservative outside groups, such as Turning Point Action, which has already spent nearly half a million dollars on ads for Biggs.

Robson’s reliance on self-funding isn’t just a campaign tactic — it’s a calculated risk that may be masking a lack of organic voter enthusiasm. With outside contributions from individual donors totaling approximately $575,000 and a mere $2,500 from PAC money, her campaign appears heavily subsidized by personal wealth rather than broad-based popular support. That financial profile contrasts sharply with Biggs, who, while slower to self-fund, has secured nearly $459,000 in outside spending from Turning Point Action, and incumbent Hobbs, whose funding is overwhelmingly powered by small-dollar contributions rather than a personal loan.

With over a year to go before the primary, Robson’s early cash dump has set the tone, but it also begs the question: how much of her campaign is being fueled by voters, and how much is being propped up by her checkbook?