Arizona Republicans pick nominees Tuesday for governor and other top offices

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans are choosing nominees Tuesday to challenge Democrats who hold top offices as the GOP searches for a path back to power in a battleground state it used to dominate.

U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, who represent neighboring districts in metro Phoenix, offer a clash of styles in the race to take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, considered the most endangered Democratic governor in the country this election cycle.

With President Donald Trump's endorsement and support from the grassroots turnout machine of the conservative group Turning Point Action, Biggs says he can unite the party going into a general election.

Schweikert says his low key, pro-business, fiscal conservatism can win back voters turned off by a string of Trump loyalists like Kari Lake, the Republican nominee for governor four years ago.

Both parties have hotly contested primaries to replace Schweikert in the highly competitive 1st Congressional District.

Republicans also are picking nominees for secretary of state and attorney general, key posts with power over elections in a state that was pivotal for Trump's efforts to overturn his loss in 2020.

Biggs built a national profile as chair of the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022 and as a staunch defender of Trump. He assisted the president’s attempt to block the certification of his loss in the 2020 election, voting against accepting Electoral College votes from Arizona and other battleground states after the Jan. 6 riot.

He has always represented safe Republican seats and is a veteran of factional brawls within the GOP. Before going to Congress, he nearly lost his post as state Senate president during a confrontation with then-Gov. Jan Brewer, also a Republican, over her push to expand Medicaid.

Schweikert has walked a tightrope with Trump, carefully keeping his distance without antagonizing him. That has helped him win a string of tough races in a competitive House district — a track record he says will help him win over swing voters and beat Hobbs — but has left him isolated from Trump's “Make America Great Again” base.

Democrats have focused their attacks on Biggs, whom they plan to portray as an extremist focused on helping Trump and not Arizonans.

Schweikert’s 1st District is a top battleground in the fight for a congressional majority. Anchored in Scottsdale, it is home to many of the white, highly educated and affluent voters who have soured on the GOP under Trump.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee controversially threw its support behind Marlene Galán-Woods, a former television news anchor who used to be a Republican. Her late husband, Grant Woods, was the Republican attorney general in the 1990s and later became a vocal Trump critic.

Galán-Woods’ chief opponent, Amish Shah, is an emergency medicine doctor and former state legislator who was the nominee in 2024 but lost narrowly to Schweikert.

On the Republican side, former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feeley has Trump’s endorsement. But he has been dogged by criticism for living outside the district — he resides in Biggs’ district and originally was running there until Trump endorsed a rival in that contest.

Feeley faces Joseph Chaplik, a former state legislator popular with many of the GOP’s grassroots activists, and businessperson John Trobough.

In Tucson, retired Marine drill instructor JoAnna Mendoza is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination to challenge second-term Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who also has no primary opponent. The seat is perennially competitive in general elections and is a top pickup target for Democrats in November.

Meanwhile, the GOP primary for the safe Republican seat Biggs is vacating has turned salacious: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who is endorsed by Trump, came under scrutiny for alleged sexual misconduct and abuse of power.

The county attorney cleared him of criminal wrongdoing, and Trump reiterated his endorsement this month. Lamb dismissed the allegations as “slander and lies.”

He faces Daniel Keenan, who owns a construction company.

FILE - Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Sept. 24, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

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

Like most gardeners, I occasionally stumble upon fruits and flowers that resemble something else. But a naked man was not on my botanical bingo card.

Sure, tomatoes can be mischievous, taking on the shape of horned animals, Russian dolls, large-nosed characters and even unmentionables when exposed to extreme temperatures and vivid imaginations. But I thought orchids were more polite.

As it turns out, they aren’t. You don’t have to squint very hard to see the uncanny resemblance that some of them bear to animals, insects and even people. These are the five that impress and amuse me the most.

Meet Orchis italica, aka the naked man orchid, who smiles broadly as he hangs off the plant with his legs splayed and arms extended as if requesting a hug. Let’s just say his decision to forgo pants is obvious.

Sometimes called “Italian orchid,” naked man hails from the sunny Mediterranean region, which also may explain his decision to wear what resembles a hat. He thrives in partial shade and infertile soil, where the plant grows up to 20 inches tall before flowers make their midspring appearance.

Swaddled baby (Anguloa uniflora) is a 2-foot tulip orchid that grows only in the Andes region of South America, where high humidity is essential for its survival. The flower’s pale-pink-to-white petal formation resembles a newborn baby lovingly wrapped in a blanket.

Dove orchid (Peristeria elata) looks remarkably like its namesake, with blossoms that resemble the bird’s head, beak, body, tail and purple-speckled wings.

The national flower of Panama, where the plant is called flor del Espíritu Santo (flower of the Holy Spirit), it has upright stems that can grow up to 3 feet long, each bearing a succession of as many as 20 blooms that open from late summer through early fall.

The dove orchid thrives in warm conditions and requires ample air circulation and consistently moist roots.

Bumble bee orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora) is probably the most cunning on this list, as its scent and flower bear an uncanny resemblance to a female solitary bee. The Mediterranean beauty’s mimicry tricks mate-seeking male bees into landing on it, only to have their hopes dashed. They may leave disappointed, but not before inadvertently pollinating the flower and other nearby orchids, contributing to the propagation of the species.

Monkey orchid (Dracula chimaera) is native to the high-altitude, humid forests of the Andes mountains. The plant likes it cool, moist and at least partially shady. Growing just 6 to 12 inches tall and wide, its 2-inch-wide flowers each bear a striking resemblance to an adorable monkey’s face.

Unlike malformed tomatoes, these orchids' appearances are exactly what nature intended. Although you may be able to find them for sale at specialty nurseries or in plant catalogs, growing them at home would require replicating their respective native climates, such as in a greenhouse or by providing humidifiers or other accommodations.

If that’s not possible, you can simply delight in them from where you’re sitting, just as I do.

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Jessica Damiano writes regular gardening columns for The Associated Press. She publishes the Weekly Dirt Newsletter. Sign up here for weekly gardening tips and advice.

For more AP gardening stories, go to https://apnews.com/hub/gardening.

This combination of images provided by the Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., shows various orchids, from left, a Bumble Bee orchid (Ophrys bombyliflora), a Monkey orchid (Dracula chimaera), a Naked Man orchid (Orchis italica), and a Swaddled Baby orchid (Anguloa uniflora). (Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens via AP)

This image provided by the Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., shows a Dove orchid (Peristeria elata). (Brandon Tam/Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens via AP)