How affordability issues are shaping Arizona governor's race

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, the two major candidates in the governor’s race, agree that residents are facing an affordability crisis. They disagree over who is responsible.

Hobbs told Democratic volunteers in Scottsdale that Biggs supports President Donald Trump’s tariffs and policies that she says have raised grocery and gas prices. She said her focus has been lowering costs for utilities, child care and housing.

Biggs said Arizona has gone from being one of the most affordable states to one of the least affordable. Data from the Common Sense Institute points to housing costs and a shortage of new construction since the Great Recession as major factors. Home prices rose sharply in the two years after the pandemic, before Hobbs took office in 2023.

Biggs has proposed eliminating Arizona’s income tax and supports tax cuts included in the federal One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Hobbs signed a state budget that adopted those changes, including a larger standard deduction and additional deductions for seniors, tipped income and overtime. Biggs has criticized Hobbs for vetoing full tax conformity legislation three times.