Key Points:

• Gov. Katie Hobbs has vetoed 390 bills during her first three years in office

• The Arizona Capitol Times analyzed all 390 and organized them into a database

• Hobbs has defended her use of the veto pen, while Republicans say it proves she is ineffective

Since Gov. Katie Hobbs took office in 2023, her veto stamp has been a bane for Republicans and a backstop for Democrats. Hobbs has broken the state’s veto record twice and shot down 390 bills over three legislative sessions, with even more veto-bait bills expected to make it to her desk in 2026.

The Arizona Capitol Times analyzed all 390 vetoes issued by the governor and broke them down by category, sponsor, and session. The bills have been organized into a searchable, sortable database.

Hobbs has defended her use of the veto stamp as a last line of defense against harmful and extreme conservative policies promoted by legislative Republicans. Meanwhile, her opponents have used it as evidence of her inability to work with the Legislature and produce meaningful results.

According to the database, Hobbs has vetoed more election bills than any other category of legislation. She vetoed 71 bills related to elections over the last three legislative sessions, in part due to a Republican fixation on election administration following the 2020 and 2022 elections. 

Other popular veto categories for the governor include legislation related to state government and groundwater. Those categories likely see a large number of vetoes in part because of the large number of bills introduced on those topics. 

Sen. John Kavanagh, R-Paradise Valley, had the most bills vetoed by Hobbs in the last three sessions, with 39 pieces of legislation rejected by the governor. Thirteen of those bills comprised the skinny budget Republicans sent Hobbs in 2023, which Kavanagh sponsored as the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Gail Griffin, R-Hereford, is notorious for sending the governor groundwater legislation destined for her veto stamp. She has had 36 bills vetoed by Hobbs since 2023, the second most of any lawmaker. 

Republican lawmakers have been known to send the governor legislation she already vetoed in a prior session. The Arizona Capitol Times found that 50 of Hobbs’ 390 vetoes came from legislation that had been vetoed previously and was reintroduced.

Hobbs has also vetoed 41 bills related to the state budget after the Legislature sent her a skinny budget in February 2023 and House Republicans sent her two separate budget proposals in 2025. 

Additionally, an analysis of bills filed ahead of the 2026 session found that 30 previously vetoed bills will make another appearance in 2026. Most of those bills have seen little, if any, change since being shot down by Hobbs. 

Hobbs has long accused Republicans of purposely attempting to make her look obstructionist by sending bills to her desk that they know she will veto. But some lawmakers and consultants say the Governor’s Office should be working more closely with the Legislature to better communicate which bills can make it across the finish line. 

Whether or not Hobbs will break another veto record in 2026 is unclear. Republican lawmakers are expected to refer legislation to the ballot in order to bypass the governor’s veto stamp, a tactic that yielded mixed results in 2024.

View the complete data set here: https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4yrQy/1/

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