By Staff Reporter |

Arizona voters reelected Gov. Katie Hobbs for a second term, and with her the first lieutenant governor, John Giles.

Both electeds delivered victory speeches committing themselves to nonpartisanship while hinting at the partisan policy changes cresting on the January horizon.

Giles, a registered independent and the former mayor of Mesa, opened up his victory speech with a remark maintaining that he was not a member of the Democratic Party, regardless of his pledge to work as “one team” with Hobbs and his alignment with the rest of the Democratic Party. 

“I’m the only non-Democrat who had a good night last night,” said Giles. “Arizona voters created this office so the governor and lieutenant governor would work as one team, with one mission. That’s exactly what Governor Hobbs and I will be: a team that wakes up every morning asking what Arizona needs, and then gets it done.”

Giles said that political party doesn’t define the merits of laws and policy. 

“As mayor, I learned there’s no Republican way or Democratic way to fill a pothole. The same is true at the State Capitol,” said Giles. “There’s no partisan approach that protects our water, builds homes families can afford, keeps rural hospitals open, or gets our kids ready for the good jobs coming to this state.

Giles praised Hobbs as a bipartisan leader. 

“For four years, I’ve watched Katie Hobbs stand up to Washington and leaders in her own party. I’ve watched her bring Republicans and Democrats to the same table and get things done,” said Giles. “Every time the choice was between what’s best for a political party and what’s best for Arizona, she chose Arizona.”

After issuing congratulations to fellow Democrats who won their races, Hobbs opened up her victory speech by commenting on Arizona Democrats flipping the state legislature. Arizona Democrats haven’t held a majority in both chambers since 1966. 

Hobbs took credit for the legislature flipping, citing her creation of the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee as a state lawmaker in 2014.

“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,” said Hobbs. “We’ve now gone from a one-pizza caucus to a majority in both chambers.”

Hobbs said her election represented the victory of “sanity over chaos.” 

“You chose leaders who answer to Arizona, not Washington. You told us what keeps you up at night: the grocery bill, the rent or the mortgage, the price at the pump, the cost of a prescription. Washington keeps driving those costs up. And you chose a governor who will keep working to bring them down,” said Hobbs. “You chose a governor who will stand up for Arizonans, even when powerful people in Washington come calling. And I know firsthand that standing up isn’t always easy.”

Hobbs pledged to be a nonpartisan governor on certain key issues. 

“And everywhere I go, I’m reminded that what unites us is so much stronger than what divides us. We all want the same things: lower costs, safe communities, a secure border, good schools, and water for generations to come,” said Hobbs. “When we set partisan politics aside, focus on the problem in front of us, and get the job done, there is nothing — nothing — we can’t accomplish.”

On the topics of border security and abortion, Hobbs diverged from Republican sentiments. Hobbs indicated that she would take further action to thwart deportation efforts by President Donald Trump. 

“We showed Washington we can secure the border and take on the cartels without deporting American citizens and indiscriminately rounding up people who pay taxes, work hard, and have been in their community for years,” said Hobbs. 

Hobbs also reminded voters that she led on the repeal of the state’s total abortion ban.

“I promised you I would do everything in my power to repeal the 1864 total abortion ban that put so many women’s lives at risk. I did what 23 governors and 55 legislatures before me couldn’t or wouldn’t do: I repealed it,” said Hobbs. “Now, my daughter and women and girls like her across Arizona won’t be forced to live in a state where they have fewer rights than I did at their age.”

Hobbs pledged to fight against the federal government for Arizona’s water rights to the Colorado River, crack down on drug cartel activity along the border, roll back the school choice program, increase housing affordability by rolling back bureaucratic requirements, and expand apprenticeship opportunities. 

Read Hobbs and Giles’ victory speeches in their entirety here.

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