Katie Hobbs’ reported running mate John Giles dropped GOP registration months before pick

Former Mesa Mayor John Giles quietly changed his voter registration from Republican to no party preference in May, months before he was reportedly tapped by Hobbs as a running mate.

Maricopa County voter records obtained through a public records request show Giles filed the change on May 17, checking “Other” and selecting “No Party Preference” on his registration form. He had been a registered Republican since at least 1986, when his first registration appeared in county records.

The party switch came roughly three months before the New York Times reported Tuesday that Hobbs planned to name Giles to the Democratic ticket in a bipartisan play for her reelection bid against Republican nominee Andy Biggs and his lieutenant governor running mate Sine Kerr.

“Giles, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, had already distanced himself from the GOP.

He endorsed Kamala Harris in 2024 and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

He has also been a prominent figure in Hobbs’ “Arizona Over Party” coalition, a group of Republicans and independents backing the governor’s reelection.

Arizona voters approved the creation of the lieutenant governor’s office in 2022, and whoever wins in November will be the first person to hold the position.

Giles’ voter file shows that for the July 2026 primary, his party was listed as “other” and he received a Democratic ballot. As recently as the July 2024 primary, he had voted on a Republican ballot.

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