Key Points:

• State Republican chair Gina Swoboda is running in the 2026 race for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District

• Despite Trump’s endorsement, Swoboda faces opposition from fellow Republicans 

• Several Democrats are also running, including two repeat candidates

The field for Arizona’s 1st Congressional District race is starting to shape up after a major Republican candidate announced she’s running.

On Oct. 21, Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda confirmed she’s entering the race to replace U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., in 2026.

“Today, I am proud to announce my candidacy for the Republican nomination in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District. Over the last month, I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of encouragement I have received from supporters across this district to run for this seat and keep it in Republican hands,” Swoboda said.

Swoboda, a longtime district resident who lives in Scottsdale, already has an advantage over other Republican candidates. She has an endorsement from President Donald Trump, who said Swoboda will be a “tremendous champion for Arizona in Congress.”

Since Schweikert announced he’s running for governor, more than a half dozen Republicans have filed statements of interest to run for the district, but Swoboda is the first high-profile candidate to officially enter the race. 

“She’ll have the support of the White House and the support of Trump and be a very formidable opponent to take down,” said Chuck Coughlin, CEO and president of HighGround Public Affairs Consultants. “I’d call her the favorite right out of the gate to prevail in the Republican primary and probably to prevail in the general election.”

Swoboda will likely face a heavy opposition campaign in the GOP primary from Freedom Caucus-affiliated Republicans, who have spent the past few months trying to oust her from the party chairwoman’s position. 

Sen. Jake Hoffman and former state Rep. Liz Harris, who was expelled from the House in 2023, called for Swoboda to resign as chairwoman or be removed by the state committee in August over conduct that was “entirely unbecoming of a state Republican chair.” 

Some of the conduct Hoffman objected to from Swoboda was her telling 12News that she believes the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program should be audited and that she doesn’t agree with efforts by other Republicans to revoke Arizona PBS’ license. 

Hoffman and Turning Point USA Chief Operating Officer Tyler Bowyer have also accused Swoboda of persuading Schweikert to enter the governor’s race as an attempt to sabotage U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs’ gubernatorial campaign, but Swoboda denied those claims to the Arizona Capitol Times in July. 

“Schweikert was the only Republican capable of winning CD-1 and holding the congressional majority for President Trump,” Hoffman wrote in an Oct. 8 post on X before Swoboda announced she was running. “Making the whole situation worse, we now know that Gina Swoboda’s entire scheme was designed to clear the CD-1 field for her own congressional run!”

Despite the president’s backing, Coughlin said Swoboda could be vulnerable in a primary election because of the generally low voter turnout. He anticipates Democrats will gain an advantage if a candidate further to the right of Swoboda gets the nomination.

“For Republican unity’s sake, they ought to rally around one candidate and get their act together,” Coughlin said.

A July voter registration report from the Secretary of State’s Office indicates Republicans have more than 62,000 registered voters over Democrats in the district, which encompasses northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek and Fountain Hills. There are an additional 178,000 “other” voters in the district.

“Representative Schweikert demonstrated time and time again how resilient he was as a candidate in that district. Without the incumbency advantage, there’s greater opportunities for Democrats,” said Matt Kenney, a Republican partner with Echo Canyon Consulting.

Kenney also floated Phoenix City Councilman and former state lawmaker Jim Waring as a potential Republican candidate for the congressional seat.

“Councilman Waring knows the district and has knocked more doors than anybody else,” Kenney said.

Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin was also rumored to run, but he wrote in an X post on Sept. 30 that he’s not interested in running. 

Multiple Democrats are also vying for the seat after a 2024 six-way primary, which former state Rep. Amish Shah won. Shah and one of his primary opponents, Marlene Galan-Woods, are running again in 2026, but they are being outspent by a new Democratic candidate early on in the race. 

Among the dozen Democrats who have filed statements of interest with the Secretary of State’s Office to run for the seat, Jonathan Treble has amassed the most cash at the end of the third quarter federal campaign finance reporting period.

Treble, a smart amenities business founder, was not a candidate in the six-way Democratic primary, but he’s the first Democrat in the race to cross the $1 million threshold in total cash raised for the 2026 election cycle. He has raised more than $1.7 million in total, including $705,000 in the quarter. He ended the third quarter with more than $1.3 million in total cash on hand.

Treble’s total fundraising is more than what Galan-Woods and Shah have raised combined. Galan-Woods has a slight edge over Shah with $808,000 raised to Shah’s $636,000, although Shah outraised Galan-Woods in the quarter by about just over $25,000.

According to Treble’s campaign website, he survived a brain tumor last year and relied on the Affordable Care Act to help him cover a $2 million surgery.