Tucson Now: Andy Biggs’ plan for Arizona’s Governor’s Office

For Tucson and communities across Pima County, Andy Biggs is promising a governor’s office that would give Southern Arizona a larger role in decisions about water, housing, education, health care and economic development. The Republican congressman visited the county this week while campaigning for governor, appearing in an interview with Tucson Now’s Makayla Goos alongside his running mate, Sine Kerr. Biggs said his administration would not be centered only on Maricopa County and pointed to his ties to Tucson and advice from former Gov. Doug Ducey to remain engaged with Southern Arizona.

Biggs, who represents Arizona’s 5th Congressional District, is seeking the Republican nomination in a primary that has exposed competing ideas about the party’s future. His opponent, Rep. David Schweikert, argues that Biggs’ confrontational approach and close alliance with President Donald Trump could make it harder for Republicans to win statewide. Biggs has been a leading figure in the conservative House Freedom Caucus, supported Trump’s agenda and helped oppose Republican leadership in Congress, including participating in efforts that contributed to the removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy and an unsuccessful challenge to Speaker Mike Johnson.

The contest is unfolding as Arizona Republicans try to recover from a series of statewide setbacks. Trump-backed candidates have generally succeeded in Republican primaries, but only former Gov. Doug Ducey has won a statewide general election for the party since 2018. In 2022, Kari Lake lost the governor’s race after running on a message that did not significantly broaden beyond Trump’s base. Democrats now hold both of Arizona’s U.S. Senate seats and the state’s top three executive offices, making the race against Gov. Katie Hobbs a central target for Republicans.

Biggs has sought to present himself as capable of reaching voters beyond the Republican base, even as he continues to emphasize his relationship with Trump. He has rejected comparisons to Lake and has softened some of the uncompromising image associated with his congressional career. Although he supported Trump’s effort to block certification of the 2020 election, he has declined to say whether President Joe Biden’s victory was legitimate. He has also highlighted instances in which he worked across party lines. Schweikert, by contrast, has built his campaign around portraying himself as a more conventional conservative, with a focus on federal spending and deficits. Their primary is also shaped by Arizona’s large independent electorate, which can be decisive in a general election.

During his Pima County visit, Biggs outlined several health care priorities. For families caring for children with special medical needs, he proposed creating a task force made up of developmental disability providers to examine rising costs and improve oversight. He also criticized the Hobbs administration over overdue state audits, warning that as much as $18 billion in federal Medicaid funding could be at risk because of compliance problems. Biggs dismissed attack advertisements funded by health insurance interests and alleged that the groups behind them could have conflicts involving active state contract bids. The interview did not establish whether those alleged conflicts have been confirmed.

Education was another major part of Biggs’ platform. He defended Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, saying school choice is necessary for families and noting that the program costs about $7,300 per student, which he said is below average per-pupil spending in public districts. At the same time, he acknowledged challenges facing traditional public schools, including declining birth rates across the state. His proposals include revisiting Proposition 123, which directs money to K-12 education, and selling selected portions of Arizona’s 8.5 million acres of State Trust Land. Biggs said carefully managed sales could produce long-term interest revenue for schools while also opening land for housing, an approach he believes could help reduce high housing costs.

Biggs also addressed a question with direct implications for Pima County’s growth: how Arizona should handle data centers. He said the state should end tax subsidies for those facilities, ensure that large commercial operations do not overwhelm local power grids and require conservation measures such as closed-loop cooling systems. At the same time, he argued that cities and towns should retain the final authority over zoning. He cited neighborhood opposition near Vail and contrasted it with Marana’s more welcoming approach to data center development, suggesting that local communities should decide whether and where such projects fit.

His broader agenda includes expanding state services and using newer technology, including artificial intelligence, to make applications and housing permits easier to process. Biggs connected those changes to economic growth and long-term water security, issues that affect both Tucson’s established neighborhoods and fast-growing areas around the county. His message to voters was that state government should help create the conditions for development while imposing limits on water use, energy demand and infrastructure strain.

The Republican primary is also occurring alongside competitive congressional races, including the contest for Schweikert’s East Valley district, a key battleground in the fight for control of the U.S. House. That race illustrates the divide inside the party. Former Cardinals kicker Jay Feely has Trump’s endorsement, while former state legislator Joseph Chaplik and businessman John Trobough are also seeking the Republican nomination. Democrats are competing between Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television news anchor who was once a Republican, and Amish Shah, an emergency physician and former state legislator who narrowly lost to Schweikert in 2024. For Tucson voters, the governor’s contest will ultimately turn on whether Biggs’ promises of Southern Arizona attention and economic growth can overcome concerns about his Washington record and whether he can appeal to independents in a statewide election.