Who’s running in the Arizona Republican Primary 2026, what they stand for, and where each candidate sits in the Republican field — grounded in records, endorsements and affiliations.
Candidates are compared using public records: campaign platforms, legislative votes, endorsements and group affiliations. Where a candidate is described as more or less conservative, that’s tied to concrete things — Freedom Caucus membership, a Trump endorsement — not opinion. This is not an endorsement of anyone. Check your sample ballot and official candidate statements before you vote.
Arizona moved its primary this year. It used to fall on the first Tuesday in August. Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bipartisan bill in February that permanently shifts it to the second-to-last Tuesday in July, so the 2026 primary is Tuesday, July 21. Early voting started June 24. Registration for this primary closed June 22. The winners advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Here’s who’s on the Republican ballot in the big statewide races, plus the local races that matter in Mohave County.
Governor
Republican primary · four candidates
Four Republicans are running to take on Hobbs, who has no primary opponent.
Andy Biggs
Front-runner · Trump-endorsed · Freedom Caucus (former chair)
Biggs holds Trump’s endorsement. He chaired the U.S. House Freedom Caucus, spent five terms in Congress representing the East Valley, and before that served in the Legislature, including four years as state Senate president. He’s the most conservative candidate in the field by the usual measures, and polls have shown him with a wide lead — a Noble Predictive Insights survey in May put him at 48% to Schweikert’s 18%. He’s giving up his 5th District House seat to run.
David Schweikert
Establishment · Fiscal hawk
Schweikert has held his Scottsdale-area House seat since 2011. He’s a budget hawk, best known for late-night floor speeches about the federal deficit, and he sits to Biggs’s left as the more establishment pick. His record includes ethics baggage: a $50,000 fine and 11 admitted campaign-finance violations after a House Ethics investigation in 2020, and a $125,000 FEC fine in 2022. He argues he’s the only Republican who’s repeatedly won a tough, competitive district. He’s also vacating his seat to run.
Ken Miceli
Businessman · Late entry
Miceli owns a painting and contracting business in Scottsdale. He entered the race late and pitches himself as a businessman rather than a politician, pointing voters to detailed policy plans on his website.
Scott Neely
2022 gov. candidate
Neely is a concrete pumping contractor who ran for governor in 2022 and for Mesa mayor in 2024. He campaigns on limited government and warns that a Biggs nomination would cost Republicans the general election.
Karrin Taylor Robson, who ran in 2022, dropped out in February and isn’t on the ballot.
Attorney General
Republican primary · winner faces Democratic incumbent Kris Mayes
Warren Petersen
Senate President · Establishment-backed
Petersen, the Arizona Senate president, is the establishment-backed conservative here. His legislative record covers border security, parental rights and constitutional issues.
Rodney Glassman
Former Democrat
Glassman is an attorney and frequent candidate whose party history sets him apart: he ran for U.S. Senate as a Democrat in 2010 before switching to the GOP. He emphasizes public safety and criminal justice. He’s currently under investigation by Coconino County prosecutors over alleged campaign-finance violations tied to accepting donations above the legal limit.
Secretary of State
Republican primary · the office runs elections
This one draws attention because the office runs elections. Both Republicans claim Trump’s support, and they’d run the job very differently.
Alexander Kolodin
Freedom Caucus · Hardline
Kolodin is a state representative and election-law attorney, and a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus. He’s the more hardline candidate — he’s pushed aggressive changes to how elections are administered and has questioned recent Arizona elections.
Gina Swoboda
Former AZ GOP chair · Administrator
Swoboda is the former chair of the Arizona Republican Party and previously worked in the secretary of state’s office. She takes the administrator’s approach, stressing following the law, transparency and behind-the-scenes reliability.
Democratic incumbent Adrian Fontes awaits the winner.
State Treasurer
Republican primary · winner faces Democrat Nick Mansour
Both Republicans call themselves conservative fiscal stewards, but they come at the job from opposite ends of the party.
Elijah Norton
Turning Point-backed · Outsider
Norton is a businessman and former treasurer of the Arizona Republican Party, backed by Turning Point USA. He built a finance and insurance company and runs as an outsider, pledging a DOGE-style audit of state finances to root out waste and fraud, and vowing to keep Arizona’s money out of ESG and DEI investing. He skipped the Clean Elections debate.
Katherine Haley
Establishment · Yee-endorsed
Haley is president of the Arizona State Board of Education and a former policy adviser to U.S. House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan. She owns Oak Rose Group, a strategic-planning firm, and is endorsed by current Treasurer Kimberly Yee. She’s the more traditional, establishment pick, running on protecting taxpayer dollars, following the law and steady, low-risk returns.
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Republican primary
Kimberly Yee
Conservative wing · Challenger
Yee is the term-limited state treasurer, and she’s challenging the incumbent from the right. She runs on school choice, parental involvement and opposition to progressive curriculum, and lines up with the party’s conservative wing.
Tom Horne
Incumbent
Horne is the incumbent, elected in 2022 by a razor-thin margin. He also backs school choice and parental rights and leans on his long record in statewide and education office.
Corporation Commission
Republican primary · two seats
The Freedom Caucus recruited a challenger to run against two sitting Republicans on the utility board.
Ralph Heap
Freedom Caucus · Challenger
Heap, a state representative, is the more conservative candidate. He was recruited by Freedom Caucus chair Jake Hoffman and argues the incumbents haven’t been supportive enough of Trump’s agenda. He runs on energy independence, lower utility bills and cutting regulation. His original running mate, David Marshall, dropped out in April after being appointed Navajo County Recorder.
Kevin Thompson
Incumbent
Thompson is an incumbent running on grid reliability and infrastructure.
Nick Myers
Incumbent
Myers is an incumbent focused on utility regulation and long-term energy planning.
Congressional District 1
Republican primary · open seat · rated a toss-up
This is one of the most competitive House races in the country. David Schweikert is leaving the seat to run for governor, and it’s rated a toss-up — the district backed Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024. Three Republicans are running, and they don’t line up in the same lane.
Joseph Chaplik
Freedom Caucus · Hardline
Chaplik is a former state representative and a founding member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus. He’s the most hardline of the three: he opposes mail-in voting and has called the 2020 and 2022 elections rigged.
Jay Feely
Trump-endorsed · First-time candidate
Feely is a former Arizona Cardinals kicker and sports broadcaster making his first run for office. Trump endorsed him in January, and the NRCC named him to its “MAGA Majority” program. He originally filed in the 5th District, then switched to CD1 at Trump’s suggestion. He lives in Gilbert.
John Trobough
Traditional conservative · Most independent
Trobough is a former tech-company CEO who calls himself the most independent of the three — a “more traditional fiscal conservative” in the Reagan mold rather than a hardliner. Unlike Chaplik, he doesn’t have a problem with mail-in voting.
Kingman city races
Nonpartisan · same July 21 ballot, but not part of the party primary
These are on the same July 21 ballot, but they’re nonpartisan municipal races — not part of the Republican primary. There’s no party label attached.
Mayor — Ken Watkins
Incumbent
Watkins is the incumbent, in office since 2022. He points to the Downtown Streetscape project, the street repair program and airport site cleanup, and runs on responsible growth and attracting higher-paying jobs.
Mayor — Mark Berry
Challenger
Berry is challenging him. He wants to slow the pace of development, add oversight to city projects, and protect taxpayers from what he sees as unnecessary expansion.
City Council
Four candidates, three seats · vote for up to three
Three incumbents and one challenger are running for the three open seats.
Jim Dykens
Incumbent
Dykens backs business growth, infrastructure, public safety and continued city investment.
Shawn Savage
Incumbent
Savage runs on balanced growth, city services and long-term planning.
Smiley Ward
Incumbent
Ward supports economic development, public safety and infrastructure improvements.
Elliot Chalew
Challenger
Chalew wants to limit growth, hold down costs passed to residents, and add accountability to development decisions.
Early ballots went out starting June 24. If you’re voting in person, bring ID. Winners of the Kingman races take office at the Dec. 1 city meeting; statewide and congressional primary winners move on to Nov. 3.
Verify dates, candidates and ballot details through the Arizona Secretary of State and the Mohave County elections office before voting.