Trump publicly endorses two Republican candidates for Arizona Governor

US President Donald Trump, publicly endorsed Republicans Andy Biggs and Karrin Taylor Robson for governor of Arizona on Monday night, in what many have seen as a surprise, expecting the US leader to back only one of the candidates for a better chance of wresting the governorship from the Democratic Party and turn the state into a Republican stronghold again, after several years in which Arizona went from being a red state to a purple one.

"I like Karrin Taylor Robson of Arizona a lot, and when she asked me to Endorse her, with nobody else running, I Endorsed her, and was happy to do so. When Andy Biggs decided to run for Governor, quite unexpectedly, I had a problem — Two fantastic candidates, two terrific people, two wonderful champions, and it is therefore my Great Honor TO GIVE MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT TO BOTH. Either one will never let you down. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the president posted on his Truth Social account.

An opportunity for Republicans

Arizona's gubernatorial election will feature acurrent Democratic governor Katie Hobbs, who will try to win a re-election that currently looks considerably uphill, after four years in which she has had to contend with aclosely divided but GOP-controlled legislature. While the state ended up voting overwhelmingly for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, he switched his vote to Trump in the last election, which pitted the conservative leader against then-vice presidential and Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris.

Biggs, who represents the southeast suburbs of Phoenix and previously chaired the Freedom Caucus in the House of Representatives, is known for being a staunch supporter of Trump and his MAGA agenda. One of Biggs' most memorable moments in recent months was when he called on the FBI to open a criminal investigation against far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for a speech in which one of her aides went so far as to shout about guillotines while she made mention of South African tycoon Elon Musk.

For her part, Robson, who had also run for governor in 2022 but lost the primary to Kari Lake, has lately become another well-known Trump loyalist supporter, to the point where she went so far as to imply that Biden's 2020 victory was not entirely lawful.