By David Schweikert
As we head into the holiday season, I wanted to take a moment and give you an update on the state of play in the Republican primary for Governor. But before I do, I want to address the troubling decision by Karrin Taylor Robson to put out a made-up poll, from a made-up polling firm, that preposterously – and I don’t use that word lightly – claimed that she was now leading the race. Simply put – she’s not.
This is now a two-candidate race between Congressmen Schweikert and Biggs and that is unlikely to change.This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone who has followed the race closely. Robson’s days as a viable candidate in this race have always been numbered. She is a failed candidate (see 2022 Republican primary for Governor) who was cynically trying to reinvent herself into something she is not, and it’s clear it hasn’t worked. Voters have seen through Robson’s cynical claims of being an “outsider” and “conservative,” and have rejected her as a candidate.
Lobbyist Robson has spent her career as the very antithesis of an “outsider,” and while it is admirable on some level that Robson has the hubris to claim otherwise, it doesn’t change the fact that Robson has a long and documentable record of as a lobbyist that renders Robson’s claims to be an outsider as simply false. As for her claims to be a conservative? A cursory review of Robson’s public statements and positions render that claim just as preposterous as her claim to be an outsider. Based on her stated positions, Robson is a pro-tax, open-border Republican and nothing is going to change that.
Here is just a small sample of Robson’s background and positions:
· Registered lobbyist for Chicanos Por La Causa
· Donated to Ruben Gallego, Ed Pastor, Harry Mitchell, and several other Democrats including one who was charged with 5 counts of sexual misconduct
· Referred to Donald Trump as a “fashion-don’t” and said he was a drag on the GOP
· Supported increasing the gas tax
· Supported in-state tuition for undocumented students
· Supported additional liberal policies on border security.
These positions, along with many more, are known to the other candidates in the Republican primary and, like 2022, render her unelectable in the Republican primary. But this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who watched the 2022 race where Robson’s liberal record cost her the primary despite spending nearly $20 million.
What does this all mean?
We also know that nominating the wrong candidates in 2022 directly led to Republicans losing all but one major statewide race. Robson has had a year to try and put together a viable campaign and make her case to voters. It’s clear it hasn’t worked. She’s fallen to 3rd place in the race and has been reduced to dummying up a fake poll to try and save her floundering campaign. At this point in the race, Robson is nothing but a spoiler. She would do well to ask herself if she wants her legacy in Arizona politics to be one of helping unviable Republicans win the Republican primary for Governor only for those candidates to lose to Katie Hobbs. She did it in 2022, and she could very well do it again in 2026 if she insists on staying in a race she cannot win.
If this year’s elections are any indication, next year’s mid-term elections will be challenging for Republicans in Arizona. We can still win, but not if we nominate the wrong candidates. If we repeat 2022, it’s entirely possible that Democrats will have full control of state government and will be able to undo decades of Republican policies that have played a key role in Arizona’s success. That’s why it is more important than ever we nominate the strongest possible candidate for Governor. David Schweikert is that candidate. Schweikert is the only candidate in the Republican primary for Governor who has a proven record of defeating Democrats in highly competitive races – something he has done time and again over the last decade in one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country.
The bottom line
With the future of Arizona and our economy at stake in next year’s mid-terms, it’s time for supporters of Robson to encourage Robson to acknowledge the reality that she cannot win and encourage her to drop out of the Republican primary for Governor.