Arizona Republicans are choosing nominees Tuesday for governor and other top offices

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans are choosing candidates Tuesday to challenge incumbent Democrats as the GOP searches for a path back to power in a once-dominated battleground state.

Live results: Arizona midterm primaries

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who represent neighboring districts in metro Phoenix, present a clash of styles in the race to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, considered the most vulnerable Democratic governor in the country this election cycle.

With the endorsement of President Donald Trump and the support of the grassroots turnout machine of the conservative group Turning Point Action, Biggs says he can unite the party in the general election.

Schweikert says his pro-business fiscal conservatism could win back voters turned away by a series of Trump loyalists like Carrie Lake, the Republican gubernatorial nominee four years ago.

Both parties fought hotly contested primaries to replace Schweikert in the hotly contested 1st Congressional District.

Read more: Andy Biggs and David Schweikert offer competing visions for the Republican Party in Arizona’s gubernatorial primary

Republicans are also selecting nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, two key positions with power over elections in a state that was central to Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 loss.

Biggs and Schweikert responded differently to Trump’s takeover of the Republican Party

Biggs built a national profile as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a vocal defender of Trump. He helped the president’s bid to block the certification of his 2020 election loss, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6 riot.

He has always represented safe Republican seats and is a veteran of factional squabbles within the GOP. Before going to Congress, he nearly lost his position as president of the state Senate during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jean Brewer, also a Republican, for her push to expand Medicaid.

Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, carefully keeping his distance without antagonizing him. That helped him win a series of tough races in a competitive House district — a track record he says will help him win over swing voters and beat Hobbs — but left him isolated from Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base.

Democrats have focused their attacks on Biggs, whom they plan to portray as an extremist focused on helping Trump and not Arizonans.

The primary will set the stage for an upper house battleground

Schweikert’s 1st District is a major battleground in the struggle for a congressional majority. Located in Scottsdale, this city is home to many highly educated and affluent white voters who opposed the Republican Party under Trump.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has controversially dropped its support for Marilyn Galland Woods, a former television news anchor who used to be a Republican. Her late husband, Grant Woods, was a Republican attorney general in the 1990s and later became a vocal critic of Trump.

Galan Woods’ main challenger, Amesh Shah, is an emergency medicine physician and former state legislator who was the nominee in 2024 but narrowly lost to Schweikert.

On the Republican side, former Arizona Cardinals player Jay Feely has Trump’s endorsement. But he has been criticized because he lives outside the district — he resides in Biggs and was originally running there until Trump endorsed a challenger in that contest.

Feeley faces Joseph Chaplik, a former state legislator popular with many GOP grassroots activists, and businessman John Truboff.

And in Tucson, retired Navy drill instructor Joanna Mendoza is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to challenge second-term Republican Rep. Juan Siscumani, who also has no primary opponent. The seat is always competitive in general elections and is a key target for Democrats in November.

Meanwhile, the GOP primary to fill the safe Republican seat Biggs will vacate has turned salacious: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is backed by Trump, has come under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

The district attorney cleared him of any criminal wrongdoing, and Trump confirmed his endorsement this month. Lamb rejected the allegations, calling them “slander and lies.”

He faces Daniel Keenan, who owns a construction company.