It's Biggs vs. Hobbs for Arizona governor in November...

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs rolled out a new video in her campaign for a second term even before her newly anointed GOP challenger, Rep. Andy Biggs, declared victory in his four-way primary contest. The video blasts Biggs' record in the Arizona Legislature and Congress, what its narrator dismisses as decades of "protecting pedophiles." It highlights Biggs' votes against health care subsidies and releasing the files tied to Jeffrey Epstein, among others from his 24 years in office. It was an early salvo in the contentious race to come as Hobbs, one of the nation's most endangered Democratic incumbent governors, fights for a second term. Biggs, one of the most conservative members of Congress who represents ruby red suburbs in the southeast Valley, easily clinched the Republican nomination on July 21. Before the votes were cast, he led in all public polling and fundraising compared to three other GOP rivals, including fellow congressman David Schweikert. Though he missed most of his own victory party while courting support from the Republican Governors Association, Biggs emerged with the nomination and ready to go on air, too. His campaign will announce a six-figure spend to amplify a video featuring Biggs with his grandkids. The campaign spot will highlight a law he sponsored with the late Sen. John McCain to make permanent a program allowing child abduction alerts on tribal lands. It seeks to paint Biggs as a protector in defense against Hobbs' contention the only people Biggs is protecting are pedophiles. Big spending ahead When it comes to the money race, outside dollars will pour in to help Biggs and Hobbs. Biggs has about $1.3 million. Hobbs' haul isn't clear. Her campaign filed several amended reports that disclosed cash on hand as low as $1.4 million. Hobbs' campaign spokesperson Sandhya Raghavan said "technical issues" with the state's reporting system were to blame. Raghavan did not explain the discrepancy. The latest reports say Hobbs is sitting on $2 million. Hobbs had spent more than she raked in over the summer — shelling out more than $6.5 million — on video advertisements in English and Spanish that highlighted her working-class background and told voters of her record in office. Many of those were inescapable during the World Cup, targeting an audience likely not glued to Arizona politics. While that voter contact depleted her massive fundraising stockpile, Hobbs is going to get major help from the Democratic Governors Association. The political group, which protects Democratic incumbents and hopes to oust GOP governors, spent over $9 million to help Hobbs in 2022 and is expected to pour resources into keeping her at the helm of the Grand Canyon State. “Arizona is always an incredibly competitive battleground and the DGA is all-in to make sure Gov. Hobbs wins so she can continue putting Arizona first," association chair and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement. Meanwhile, the conservative group Club for Growth Action has sent $1 million to Arizona so far through a political action committee, Republican Leadership for Arizona, to boost Biggs in the general election. Both campaigns are expected to focus heavily on winning over Arizonans who feel they have to pinch pennies amid higher costs. "Throughout his career in public service, Andy has fought to lower costs, grow Arizona’s economy, unleash American energy, and secure the border,” Republican Governors Association chair and Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement. “As governor, Andy will continue to put Arizona families first while Katie Hobbs focuses on serving special interests instead of addressing affordability, increasing the supply of housing, and creating more good-paying jobs." Hobbs was "eliminating the rental tax, making it easier to build housing, canceling medical debt, securing the border, protecting Arizona’s water and creating good-paying jobs," the Democratic Governors Association said in statement. Biggs emerges unscathed, while prognosticators favor Hobbs Biggs' easy victory robbed Hobbs' campaign of the divisive primary she hoped would drain his bank account and show Republican discord. Biggs' campaign said he has unified the Republican Party, which holds a massive voter registration advantage in the state. In 2022, GOP gubernatorial hopeful and Trump firebrand Kari Lake beat her better-funded opponent, Karrin Taylor Robson, by 5 percentage points. Biggs held a more than 50-point lead over Schweikert late on July 21. "Tonight’s results show that Arizonans overwhelmingly believe in our vision and I’m grateful to have earned their support," Biggs said in a statement. "Our goal has always been to unite the Republican Party and we’ve done that as much as any nominee in recent memory." The statement said Biggs would "work day and night to earn your vote, finding the areas of agreement we have and making sure you know I’ll be a Governor for you and your family and your community." But Hobbs was able to win over enough of those swing voters four years ago to flip the Governor's Office, and her leadership of the state has been intentional about a repeat. She defeated Lake in 2022 by just 17,117 votes with over 2.5 million ballots cast. Hobbs also wields the benefit of being an incumbent in a year that looks favorable for Democrats. Inside Elections calls the race a toss-up, but two other major prognosticators give Hobbs the edge. Cook Political Report on July 10 shifted the race in Hobbs' favor, from a toss-up contest to leaning toward Democrats. Sabato's Crystal Ball said in March it leaned in Hobbs' favor. But Hobbs told supporters gathered for a July 20 event that she viewed the race as a toss-up. "We know it's going to be close," Hobbs told The Arizona Republic after the event. "We're here on the ground, we're seeing the information that they don't have. Look, I'm not listening to the pundits. I'm doing what I need to win. We know it's going to be close, I'm not taking a single vote for granted." Arizona primary election 2026: Here are all the results Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.