PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs reportedly plans to select a longtime Republican for lieutenant governor: former Mesa Mayor John Giles.
According to a New York Times report, Hobbs is expected to announce a lieutenant governor nominee in the next few days. Her campaign told ABC15 on Wednesday it does not yet have an announcement, saying: "Nothing is official!"
And Hobbs told reporters they would be "the first to know" when she will is ready to share her pick, adding: "That announcement is not happening today."
"Well, look, I know there's a lot of interest from Arizonans," she said. "This is the first time we have an LG on the ballot."
Giles endorsed Kamala Harris for president in 2024, part of a group of Republicans who backed her over President Donald Trump.
"We need to vote for the adult in the room, and that is Kamala Harris," he said in 2024. "She is the best candidate."
He campaigned for Harris and spoke at the Democratic National Convention in prime time.
According to his voter record, which ABC15 obtained through a public records request, Giles changed his voter registration to "no party preference," or independent, in May.
He has been a registered Republican in Arizona since 1986, outside of a brief period in 2011 in which he was an independent.
Hobbs said Wednesday her lieutenant governor will be someone who shares her approach to governing.
"I've worked to work across the partisan divide, put the politics aside, put Arizonans first, and that's my priority in my running mate," she said.
Hobbs faces U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump, in November. He selected former state Sen. Sine Kerr as his running mate last week.
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