Andy Biggs picks Sine Kerr as running mate in 1st Arizona election with lieutenant governor

Republican gubernatorial nominee Andy Biggs named former state Sen. Sine Kerr as his running mate Friday, completing the GOP ticket for Arizona’s November general election.

“I am thrilled to have Sine Kerr as my running mate and Arizona’s first nominee to be lieutenant governor,” Biggs said in a news release. “Sine knows Arizona’s agriculture community as well as anyone and has the respect of farmers, ranchers and policymakers from around the state.”

Biggs, an East Valley congressman, also released a campaign video introducing Kerr as his running mate.

The daughter of an Army combat veteran and a naturalized U.S. citizen from Mexico, Sine Kerr has lived the American Dream.

She’s worked as a dairy farmer in Buckeye for over 40 years and represented Maricopa and Yuma counties in the State Senate.

She and her wonderful husband… pic.twitter.com/MYeBsF0ugA

— Andy Biggs (@andybiggs4az) July 31, 2026

The lieutenant governor announcement was first reported in an exclusive story from The Arizona Republic.

Who is Sine Kerr, Andy Biggs’ pick for lieutenant governor?

Kerr, who grew up in Buckeye and whose first name is pronounced SEEN-uh, is a former Arizona lawmaker and dairy farmer who was appointed by the Trump administration as state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency in May 2025.

She will campaign alongside Biggs as he runs to unseat Democratic incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs. Biggs is holding a rally in Goodyear at 6 p.m. Friday.

“From the more than 40 years I’ve worked as a farmer to representing rural communities in the West Valley out to Yuma, I know what our ranchers and farmers need to be successful and pass on their legacy to the next generation,” Kerr, who served in the Arizona Senate from 2018 to 2025, said in the release. “Rural Arizona will always have a seat at the table in a Biggs-Kerr administration, and I’m looking forward to rallying rural communities across our state to deliver a win for Andy Biggs in November.”

Why is the lieutenant governor selection significant?

If Biggs wins, Kerr would become Arizona’s first lieutenant governor and help define the office for Arizona voters and shape how future administrations use it.

Arizona voters approved Proposition 131 in 2022, establishing the lieutenant governor’s office beginning with the 2026 election. November will be the first time candidates for Arizona governor and lieutenant governor appear together on the general election ballot.

Gubernatorial nominees must select their running mates at least 60 days before the general election. Hobbs has until Sept. 4 to make her selection for the Nov. 3 election.

The lieutenant governor will replace the secretary of state as the first person in the line of succession. The lieutenant governor would assume the governorship if the sitting governor dies, resigns, is removed from office or becomes permanently unable to perform the office’s duties.

Beyond that responsibility, the office remains loosely defined, giving the governor broad discretion over the lieutenant governor’s role. The person elected in November will therefore help establish how the office operates in Arizona.

Hobbs has not yet picked a lieutenant governor, but she was turned down by Jimmy McCain, the son of late Sen. John McCain, as a candidate.

Hobbs has said she is open to filling the role with a Republican.

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