Key Points:

• Gov. Katie Hobbs and Congressman Andy Biggs must select running mates by Sept. 4

• The lieutenant governor role is loosely defined, giving governors broad discretion 

• Insiders are split on whether the role will be impactful, harmful or irrelevant

Arizona’s primary voters have picked the candidates they want to see on the ballot in November. Now the top-of-the-ticket contenders have decisions of their own: choosing who should become the state’s first lieutenant governor. 

Gov. Katie Hobbs and Congressman Andy Biggs each have until Sept. 4 to select running mates. Whoever is selected won’t just campaign alongside the nominee — they will help define an office that has never existed in Arizona.

Depending on who you ask, the job could be an immense responsibility, a ceremonial nothingburger or a political headache. 

So far, both the Hobbs and Biggs campaigns are remaining tight-lipped about the process, declining to say whether they have short lists of candidates or if they have made their choices. Democratic consultant Stacy Pearson said that likely won’t change anytime soon.

“They’ll prop their pick up as late as they can in the cycle,” Pearson said. “Once those names go public, man, those people’s lives change.”

Hobbs told reporters at a July 20 campaign event that the September deadline leaves her “plenty of time” to make the announcement.

“I can tell you, I’ve heard from a lot of Arizonans, and I continue to be focused on someone who shares my approach to governing, working across the aisle with anyone who’s going to help deliver on our tough challenges,” Hobbs said.

Biggs told reporters on June 17 that he is looking for a running mate who could take an active role in his administration.

“I want someone who understands the legislative process, but who also understands the executive process,” Biggs said. “I’m talking about dealing with the agencies and the departments, because we want someone who can come in and walk in with us on day one and help us get our agenda, a very aggressive agenda, through.”

A succession problem

Arizona voters created the lieutenant governor position in 2022 after Sen. J.D. Mesnard successfully referred the idea to the ballot following several failed attempts to create the role. 

The position is intended to solve a succession problem that allowed the governor’s office to occasionally change party hands when governors resigned or died. The Secretary of State has traditionally been next in the line of succession, and often, that person was of the opposite political bent. 

The most recent example was 2009, when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano took the job of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary in the Obama administration. Republican Secretary of State Jan Brewer succeeded her, flipping the governor’s office red without the benefit of an election.

An undefined job

The statute defining the lieutenant governor position gives the governor broad leeway to decide what role their second-in-command will play. That person could serve as the governor’s chief of staff, the director of the Department of Administration or in any other position commonly appointed by the governor.

Current and former chiefs of staff argue that their role should not be taken on by an elected official, for several reasons. 

In a 2024 interview with the Arizona Capitol Times, Hobbs’ current chief of staff Chad Campbell took himself out of the running for the lieutenant governor gig. A former state lawmaker, Campbell swore off any future runs for office and said he found the idea of a lieutenant governor doubling as a chief of staff “very weird.” 

Daniel Scarpinato, a chief of staff for former Gov. Doug Ducey, also does not see that role being fulfilled by a lieutenant governor, in part because it’s a job for political players who prefer to stay behind the scenes.

“If you were seeking out people who are disposed to putting their name on the ballot, running for lieutenant governor, I think it might be hard for them to be the person who’s in their office, making decisions,” Scarpinato said. “I just feel like there’s a weird kind of conflict there.” 

Andy Tobin, a former Corporation Commissioner and director of the Arizona Department of Administration, said the first lieutenant governor should probably not lead any state agencies while in the role.

Instead, Tobin argued the lieutenant governor could serve as an advisor to the governor and take the lead on crisis situations, like large wildfires, public health emergencies or state agency dilemmas. He also suggested the lieutenant could serve as a voice on rural issues or help the state liaise with the federal government, depending on the background and connections of the individual.

“I think it’s important that the idea would be to help make government more efficient,” Tobin said. “The lieutenant governor could very well do that.”

Potential pitfalls

Scarpinato said he would urge any campaign to be cautious when selecting a running mate. He said he saw firsthand how other states’ governors struggled to rein in their lieutenant governors.

“There were two things that always came up … that I was really glad we didn’t have,” Scarpinato said. “One was a (governor’s) mansion, and the other was the lieutenant governor. They would end up getting crosswise with the governor, publicly speaking out against something they said, maybe even wanting to primary them, doing something embarrassing, getting in trouble, or maybe just general incompetence.”

Scarpinato suggested that Tobin would be an example of a perfect candidate because of his confidence, loyalty and dedication to his job. But Tobin told the Arizona Capitol Times he’s not interested in the gig. 

Otherwise, Scarpinato said, finding a similar candidate for the job would be like “chasing down a unicorn.”