GOP candidates pitch themselves as the person to beat Arizona's Democratic governor

PHOENIX (AP) — The two Republican congressmen running for Arizona governor pitched themselves at a debate Wednesday as the only candidate with broad enough voter appeal to unseat Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs amid the state’s affordability struggles.

U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, who is the GOP primary’s front-runner and has the endorsement of President Donald Trump, portrayed himself as being able to cross party lines and having the right experience to be the state’s chief executive.

“There’s not a doubt in my mind, if you look at the polling data that you’re going to find, I am the most competitive with Katie Hobbs of anybody on this stage in any Republican in the state,” Biggs said.

U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, who has survived three tough Democratic challenges in recent years, believes his focus on government finances and his drive to bring new business to the state make him the singular Republican candidate.

“These are wonderful people, but they’ve never actually been in the great battle,” Schweikert said of Biggs and two other Republican opponents.

Businessman Scott Neely, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2022, said after the debate that if Biggs wins the primary, Republicans will lose the election.

The winner of the July 21 primary will face Hobbs, who’s running unopposed in the primary.

Biggs has served five terms in the U.S. House, representing a heavily GOP district in the eastern Phoenix suburbs and serving at one time as chairman of the conservative U.S. House Freedom Caucus.

Before that, Biggs served in the Arizona Legislature from 2003 through 2016, including four years as president of the state Senate. He battled with then-Republican Gov. Jan Brewer on a Medicaid expansion in 2013 and pushed school choice measures and bills targeting abortion providers.

Biggs is one of Trump’s top defenders in Congress and supported Trump’s false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Schweikert, a budget hawk known for railing against government debt, has represented an affluent district that includes parts of northeast Phoenix and Scottsdale for eight terms. He served in the Arizona House in the 1990s and as Maricopa County’s treasurer in the 2000s.

Schweikert has focused his congressional career on sounding the alarm about the federal budget deficit and the ballooning U.S. debt, often in late-night speeches to a nearly empty House chamber and bleary-eyed C-SPAN viewers. Schweikert has praised Trump’s 2017 tax cuts but has called for more spending cuts to reduce federal borrowing.

His reputation was tarnished by ethics scandals. In 2022, he received a $125,000 fine by the Federal Election Commission for misappropriating campaign funds. Two years prior, he agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and accept 11 campaign finance violations after an investigation by the U.S. House Committee on Ethics. In his last three general campaigns for Congress, Schweikert staved off challenges from Democrats.

Biggs voiced support for Arizona's recent passage of a three-year moratorium on tax incentives for new data centers — a move Hobbs also has touted. “They shouldn’t be given a break,” Biggs said, noting the large amounts of power and water that data centers use.

Schweikert bemoaned Arizona’s unfavorable affordability rankings as “pretty miserable,” but said consumer prices don’t come down magically. He vowed to aggressively recruit businesses to Arizona and push for wage growth.

Both congressmen were asked about the expired healthcare subsidies for those getting coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

“We’re going to have to deal with the reality of subsidization of everything in the economy is not going to work,” Schweikert said.

Biggs said he introduced legislation in Congress to bring down healthcare costs and also voiced support for Trump’s proposal to send money directly to Americans for health savings accounts so they can handle insurance and health costs as they see fit.

Ken Miceli speaks during a debate with his Republican opponents in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections governor primary debate, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., debates with his Republican opponents in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections governor primary debate, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., debates with his Republican opponents in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections governor primary debate, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., left, Ken Miceli, second from left, Scott Neely and Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., right, stand on the stage in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections Republican governor primary debate, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

Scott Neely debates with his Republican opponents in the 2026 AZ Clean Elections governor primary debate, Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (Diannie Chavez/The Arizona Republic via AP, Pool)

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) — New Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel wanted to change Justin Herbert’s footwork, so he has taken the football out of his star quarterback’s hands for parts of the offseason program.

While it might seem counterintuitive, McDaniel believes Herbert can better focus on learning those adjustments when not throwing.

“To change it, and in one offseason, make it something that’s in the unconscious that you’re not thinking about where you have to think about a lot of other things, you really have to take an intentional attack on it. So I think he understood the extreme measures,” McDaniel said.

McDaniel is teaching Herbert to lead with his non-dominant left foot, with the right-handed passer having put his right foot forward when first handling the football in each of his previous six seasons in the NFL.

McDaniel initially took notice of the off-foot technique as an assistant to Kyle Shanahan with Houston in 2007. Brett Favre had been using it throughout his Hall of Fame career, and Tom Brady adopted it for the 2007 season when he threw 50 touchdowns passes, setting a then single-season league record that has since been broken.

Shanahan, who was the Texans quarterbacks coach at the time, and McDaniel extensively studied the possible benefits in the approach before adopting it, including when they continued worked together in Washington and San Francisco. McDaniel also took it to Miami when he was the Dolphins head coach for four seasons until being fired in January, leading the left-handed Tua Tagovailoa to start with his right foot forward.

“You have your pros and cons for anything that you do from a technique perspective, but having the non-throwing-hand foot forward, there was some advantages that I kind of lean toward. By the time we got to Washington (in 2010), we started training quarterbacks that way,” McDaniel said.

With McDaniel installing a quicker passing game that emphasizes allowing receivers to accumulate yards after catch, the tweak in footwork is intended to maximize the timing Herbert needs to get the most out of those opportunities.

“I kind of look at it like you’re trying to find the margins where you can improve, and you have a quarterback of high achievement like Justin, who wants to make gains in this game. You find the most margin that you can improve upon, and identifying that, and it being shorter time throws and footwork, there’s a necessity to really focus on footwork from the ground up,” McDaniel said.

That meant asking Herbert to spend portions of organized team activities working with a large green exercise ball instead of a football. He also ceded throws in 7-on-7s and other periods to backups Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei, leaving Herbert to simulate drop-backs.

McDaniel’s aim was to put the emphasis on process rather than result.

“It’s as simple as where your focus is, and when you don’t watch a ball go, you don’t attribute any emotions toward, ‘Oh, that was a good throw. Oh, that was a bad throw.’ You only can really lean into one thing, and that’s the footwork that you’re doing. And if you make that the end-all, be-all — at the quarterback position, you have 900 things to think about — and in a short period of time, you can really master it to where you’re not thinking about it at all,” McDaniel said.

Herbert was receptive to the request to change his footwork, having spent his college career at Oregon operating in a neutral stance with his feet placed evenly.

As for the reduction in passing, Herbert accepted it, a minor surprise given his past insistence on getting lots of extra throws in before and after practices. Herbert said the new approach is as much about making sure his arm is fresh when the Chargers get to the stretch run of the season as mastering the new footwork.

“I’ve thrown a lot of footballs, and it’s May and June, and I didn’t think it was as necessary to throw as much now. I’m doing everything I can to get the footwork ready and get the offense down, and the throws, they’ll be there,” Herbert said.

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Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh, right, drags a mat next to quarterback Justin Herbert during the NFL football team's practice, Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterbacks Justin Herbert (10) and DJ Uiagalelei (7) walk during the NFL football team's practice, Monday, June 8, 2026, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert runs a drill during the NFL football team's practice, Monday, June 8, 2026, in El Segundo, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)