Gilbert, Arizona —
Rep. Andy Biggs, the leading Republican candidate for Arizona governor, likes to tell supporters about the time he teamed up with the late Sen. John McCain to pass a law that helped American Indian tribes send alerts when children go missing.
It’s a line in his stump speech that would be unremarkable if not for how other recent Republican hopefuls in Arizona treated the iconic senator’s legacy.
Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor in 2022, famously encouraged McCain Republicans to “get the hell out” of one of her campaign events. That same year, Senate nominee Blake Masters declared it was “not (McCain’s) Republican Party in Arizona anymore.” Both lost.
Biggs’ embrace of McCain offers an early glimpse into how he intends to navigate one of the central challenges he faces if Republicans nominate him for Arizona governor in Tuesday’s primary election, as expected. A hardline conservative endorsed by President Donald Trump and a central figure in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, Biggs carries similarities with recent MAGA stalwarts who energized the Republican base — and were ultimately rejected by a majority of Arizona voters.
