Republican Karrin Taylor Robson enters Arizona governor’s race once again

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Arizona businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson announced she is running for Arizona governor Wednesday, touting an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

“I thank President Trump for his strong endorsement and look forward to working with him to secure our border and make Arizona safe again,” she said in a prepared statement.

She’s hoping to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in 2026.

In a press release announcing her candidacy, she also slammed Hobbs over her handling of the economy and border security.

“Katie Hobbs has made it harder to live, work, and raise a family safely in this state, Like President Trump, I know how to create jobs. And like President Trump, I will not rest until our border is secure and Arizona families are safe,” she said.

In 2022, Taylor Robson ran unsuccessfully for governor. Despite shelling out millions of dollars of her own money, she came up short of former news anchor Kari Lake in the Republican primary.

Political consultant Stan Barnes with Copper State Consulting said that when Robson lost in the primary to Lake in 2022, she didn’t embrace all things Trump, but that’s not the case anymore.

“Karrin Taylor Robson in 2022 was keeping Trump a lot at arm’s length because she didn’t want to be labeled as a Trump person. She wanted to be her own person,” said Barnes. “Now, she obviously doesn’t care about that and wants to be known as Trump’s favorite. That is a shift in Trump’s popularity.”

During a radio interview on The Mike Broomhead Show on KTAR News 92.3 FM, Robson made several references to Trump endorsing her, based on a statement President Trump made during a Phoenix event in December, when he said if Robson ran for governor she’d have his support.

“The voters of Arizona clearly support the president,” said Robson. “They elected him by a very wide margin, so when you get his support and see what the current governor has been doing in our state, I can do a better job.”

The Arizona political establishment has long expected Taylor Robson to jump into the 2026 race, where she could face Congressman Andy Biggs in the primary.

Last month, the five-term congressman announced he was running. Biggs is the former leader of the conservative Freedom Caucus and a strong ally of Trump.

Republican strategist Sean Noble thinks it’s very possible Trump will eventually give his support to Biggs, especially after what he’s seen from recent polling.

A recent survey of 500 likely Republican primary voters from Data Orbital shows Biggs with a sizeable lead over Robson and Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee if she entered the race.

Biggs had support from 31.7%, Robson 12.4% and Yee 7.4%. Forty-five percent were undecided.

Another poll released from American Encore shows that likely general election voters prefer Biggs head-to-head with Gov. Hobbs, 44% to 43%.

Head to head with Hobbs, the poll had Robson losing 40% to 38%.

“I do think the endorsement could change, and if it does, that’s fatal to Robson’s chances, as she leans in on what she’s calling a Trump endorsement, even though it’s not an official endorsement,” said Noble. “If that goes to Biggs, that’s going to hurt her a lot.”

Arizona’s 2026 race for governor is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country. The Cook Report recently listed the race as a toss-up.

The Arizona Democratic Party released this statement following Robson’s announcement.

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