Arizona political expert doesn’t think Trump will change endorsement in governor’s race

PHOENIX – A longtime Arizona political consultant believes President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Karrin Taylor Robson for governor is firm.

“I’m confident he’ll stick with Karrin,” Chuck Coughlin, CEO and president of Phoenix-based HighGround, Inc., told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday morning, a day after Taylor Robson launched her second gubernatorial run.

Trump pledged his support to Taylor Robson in December 2024, nearly two months before she officially entered the 2026 Republican primary race.

“Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin. Because if you do, you’re going to have my support,” Trump said from the stage during a Turning Point event in Phoenix on Dec. 22, 2024.

Why are there questions about Trump’s commitment to Taylor Robson?

However, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs declared his candidacy on Jan. 25, raising speculation that Trump would shift his support to the longtime congressional ally.

This belief is fed by the fact that Trump has endorsed multiple candidates for the same office on occasion, including last year in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.

Still, Coughlin doesn’t think that will happen in the 2026 gubernatorial race. He noted that Biggs is known as a “career politician” while Taylor Robson has a reputation as a businesswoman.

“He respects her business background and her ability to get things done. … I suspect that’s the reason why he is migrated her way,” Coughlin said.

Trump’s endorsement went against Taylor Robson in 2022

Taylor Robson told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on Wednesday that Trump’s endorsement was a big reason she decided to take a second run at the governor’s office.

Ironically, Trump backed Taylor Robson’s opponent, Kari Lake, in the 2022 GOP primary. Lake won the nomination but lost to Democrat Katie Hobbs in the general election.

Coughlin viewed Trump’s endorsement of Lake as a “political thing,” but he doesn’t think that’s the case with Taylor Robson.

“I suspect it’s a true North Star for him, that she’s going to hold his loyalty throughout the campaign,” the consultant said.

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