Arizona GOP chair seeks Schweikert’s CD1 seat with Trump endorsement

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — The head of the Arizona Republican Party is now running for Congress after gaining a coveted endorsement by President Donald Trump on Monday.

In a news release, Party Chair Gina Swoboda announced that she will seek the party’s nomination in Arizona’s 1st Congressional District, a spot left wide open after current Rep. David Schweikert announced that he would campaign to be the state’s next governor.

“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 in a prepared statement Monday.

“I am deeply honored to have the endorsement of President Trump as we embark on a campaign that will be centered around the common-sense conservative principles of economic growth and prosperity, strong and secure borders, and protecting taxpayers,” she added.

The highly-competitive district encompasses older, more affluent areas in the northeast Valley including portions of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, and Paradise Valley.

Last year, Schweikert won 51.9% to 48.1% in the general election, a margin of less than 17,000 votes, against Amish Shah, a Democratic state lawmaker and physician.

On the Democratic side, Shah and former journalist Marlene Galán-Woods are considered top contenders. In the 2024 primary, Shah edged out ex-party chair and businessman Andrei Cherny by 1,618 votes, and beat Galán-Woods by a similar margin of 1,724 votes.

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