Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Lt. Gov.-elect John Giles deliver victory speeches

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and running mate John Giles, who will be the state’s first lieutenant governor, talked about their partnership and priorities while delivering victory speeches Wednesday.

“Four years ago, I stood before you and said Arizona had chosen sanity over chaos. In this election, Arizona made that choice again,” Hobbs told supporters gathered at a west Phoenix labor union hall.

Hobbs defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs in Tuesday’s general election to win a second four-year term. In January, she will become the first Arizona Democratic governor with majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature since 1966.

“Sixty years. I want you to understand what that means to me,” Hobbs said. “When I got to the Legislature in 2011, there were so few Democrats in the Senate, we joked that the caucus could share one pizza. So we got to work.”

Gov. Katie Hobbs lists ESA reform among her priorities

The governor ran down the priorities for her final term during her speech, including affordability, the state’s water supply, border security and workforce development.

She also vowed to rein in the Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) school voucher program.

“We’ll crack down on the waste, fraud and abuse in the out-of-control ESA entitlement program while delivering $1 billion to our public schools — without raising taxes,” she said.

Hobbs, who set veto records while working with Republican majorities, won’t need GOP support to enact legislation for at least the next two years. However, she said she won’t shut out the opposing party in the next session.

“To my colleagues in the Legislature: My door is open, just as it has been for four years. Republicans and Democrats have sat at my table, and together we’ve passed balanced, bipartisan budgets that put Arizona families first,” she said.

Hobbs leaned on the concept of bipartisanship by selecting Giles, the former Republican mayor of Mesa who left the GOP and registered as an independent, as her running mate.

“As mayor of Mesa, John showed what it looks like to put people ahead of politics, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner for the next four years,” she said.

Independent John Giles refers to self as ‘the only non-Democrat that had a good night’

Giles alluded to his lack of partisan status when he spoke before Hobbs on Wednesday night.

“I think I may be the only non-Democrat that had a good night last night,” he said.

Giles will help define the office of lieutenant governor, which was on the ballot for the first time after voters approved its creation in 2022.

“Being the first one of anything is a little bit challenging, right? There’s no handbook. There’s no predecessor to call and ask for advice, right? But at least on the bright side, there’s nobody around to say, ‘Hey, the other guy did it better last time,’” he said.

Giles said he and Hobbs will work as a team to get things done for Arizona. He also thanked Republicans who crossed party lines to vote for Democrats.

“To the Arizonans who didn’t vote for us, hey, I promise that the governor and I will wake up every day and work just as hard for you,” he said. “As mayor, I learned that there’s no Republican or Democratic way to fill a pothole. The same is true at the state Capitol, right? There’s no partisan approach that protects our water, builds homes that families can afford, keeps rural hospitals open or gets kids ready for good jobs that are coming to this state.”

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