By Staff Reporter |
Congressman Andy Biggs is planning to run for Arizona governor, per a statement of intent filed on Tuesday.
The 2026 gubernatorial race may be a showdown between a veteran lawmaker known for challenging the D.C. status quo and the Biden administration, and the state’s first Democratic leader in over a decade, Governor Katie Hobbs.
Biggs, a longtime member and former chair of the House Freedom Caucus, has made his mark in Congress as a fiscally conservative hardliner. This was made especially clear during the pandemic, when other Republicans unified with Democrats time and again on increasing spending to offset emergency government mandates which crippled the economy.
Biggs was just one of the only two representatives to vote against the $8 billion for COVID-19 pandemic aid in early March of 2020. The congressman remarked in a public statement at the time that President Donald Trump had requested a fraction of that “bloated” amount ($2 billion) to fund a federal response to the outbreak.
Biggs’ assessment of the political climate at the time — issued exactly a week before Trump declared a national emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic — ultimately proved a wise warning unheeded:
“Throwing money at a potentially serious issue does not alleviate the American people’s concerns. Nor does politicizing the issue to score points for future elections,” said Biggs. “Congressional Republicans and Democrats should join the White House to calmly, wisely, and pro-actively communicate a unified response to their constituents. We must rise to the occasion and do what is best for this situation – as well as for future generations.”
Biggs was also one of only a few dozen who voted against the $15 billion Families First Coronavirus Response Act passed days later.
In all, the federal government spent $4.6 trillion on COVID-19.
Biggs would continue to oppose efforts to mitigate unchecked spending. In 2023, Biggs fought against Congress’ plan to raise the debt ceiling.
Biggs’ other key votes included his opposition to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, in large part on the basis of since-removed provisions requiring women to register for the draft.
The congressman has consistently supported legislation to close and prioritize the U.S. border over aid to foreign countries’ military efforts. Consistent with his dedication to securing American interests first, Biggs has consistently voted against the billions in funding afforded to Ukraine under the Biden administration.
In 2021, that first year of the border crisis, Biggs sponsored a resolution to impeach then-Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. In subsequent years, Biggs signed onto several efforts to impeach former President Joe Biden as well as former Attorney General Merrick Garland.
During his eight years in Congress, Biggs has sponsored over 900 bills and cosponsored nearly 1,300 bills.
Only one of Biggs’ bills has passed Congress, made it to the president’s desk, and became law: HR 4983, designating the Department of Veterans Affairs community-based outpatient clinic in Gilbert as the Staff Sergeant Alexander W. Conrad Veterans Affairs Health Clinic.
35 of Biggs’ cosponsored bills made it to the president’s desk. Three were vetoed, and 32 became law.
This session, Biggs has introduced over 80 proposed bills on a wide scope of red-meat Republican issues to strengthen and enforce immigration laws, modify individual health coverage requirements, restrict executive national emergency authority, prohibit vaccine and mask mandates, roll back foreign intelligence surveillance, require greater performance measures from various agencies, tie congressional salaries to budgeting agreements, pull back on various agencies’ spending or authority, abolish certain agencies, expand veteran care options, undo spying on Americans, simplify congressional bills, eliminate DEI funding in federal government, expand oil and gas production, ban abortion, and establish school choice, to name a few.
Biggs currently sits on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Committee on the Judiciary.
Other declared Republicans who filed statements of interest: Christopher Ames, Scott Neely, and George Nicholson. One declared Libertarian, Barry Hess, filed a statement of interest.
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