Stan Barnes, Copper State Consulting

Monday, June 15, 2026 | 20:36

Nothing’s more important on Arizona’s political calendar this week than the Republican gubernatorial debate. So much so that not only will KTAR News carry it live on-air and online (at 6 PM Wednesday), doing a preview of the debate on the latest AZ Political Podcast was a no-brainer.    I also didn’t have to use much brain power to pick the guest for this topic: Republican political consultant Stan Barnes, who is long-time friends with the two top candidates fighting to face Democratic incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs this fall, Congressmen Andy Biggs and David Schweikert.    With so many similarities between Schweikert and Biggs, Stan believes they won’t debate policy — nor does he think there’ll be any personal attacks between the two. So, he thinks the debate will come down to one thing: a candidate’s electability versus Hobbs.    Stan tells me that, at his core, Shweikert believes he is the guy to hobble Hobbs and that if he loses the nomination (the direction polling is pointing), Hobbs not only beats Biggs, that defeat could also lead to Democratic majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature — a political place Arizona hasn’t been in since 1966.    For those who think it’s unfair that lower-tier candidates don’t ever get mentioned, Stan and I do talk about Ken Miceli and Scott Neely: two East Valley businessmen who will be on the GOP ballot and the debate stage with Biggs and Schweikert.    Stan thinks they’ll likely have their biggest impact on Wednesday night when he presumes they’ll go after the front-runner, Biggs. Will they score enough points to move Schweikert up? Or will they just make it look like it’s three against one?    You can get answers by watching the debate on KTAR.com, but I’d suggest doing that after you watch the pre-game show: the AZ Political Podcast.