On the heels of her reelection, Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) Chairwoman Gina Swoboda told The Arizona Sun Times on Tuesday that the party will focus on winning the Grand Canyon State’s executive branch back from Democrats, with a particular focus on unseating Governor Katie Hobbs.
Swoboda was reelected as the state party’s leader after she was elected to a partial term last year, presiding over the party during the successful election of President Donald Trump to the White House, and will now lead Arizona’s Republicans into the 2026 midterm elections that are likely to be dominated by the gubernatorial race, as neither U.S. Senator representing Arizona are up for reelection.
“I’m honored and blessed to serve as the chair. I don’t want to beat the word to death, but honor is the word for the fact that the president and the state committee members believe in me and support me and want me to lead the party for another two years,” said Swoboda, noting that Trump endorsed her bid for reelection. “It means the world to me, and I will not let them down.”
She told The Sun Times, “I’m not sick of winning. We need to take back the executive branch in ’26, we need to secure our Congressional majority, and we need to continue to expand our seats in the legislature so that we can advance good policies on behalf of the people of Arizona.”
Outlining her plans for the two-year term, Swoboda said that until Republicans select their candidates next year, the party has “one mission, and that’s to hit the left over and over again.”
Swoboda explained the AZGOP is likely to launch political attacks against Hobbs, as well as other statewide elected Democrats, for their economic policies, before pivoting to a general election message for the gubernatorial election in 2026.
“As soon as I have a primary winner in ’26, the party is going to do a hard pivot and start supporting whoever the winner is of the primary. We’re going to amplify whatever their messaging is in every contest, from legislative races, all the way to the gubernatorial race,” said Swoboda.
The chairwoman also told The Sun Times that the AZGOP will remain completely neutral throughout the primary process, noting the party recently adopted a new bylaw to prevent party chairs from undermining the will of the voters.
She confirmed, “We’re not getting engaged in that; we have absolutely no voice in that. That’s up to the voters. The Republican voters will decide who their candidates are, and once they do decide who their candidates are, then we’re going to go full throttle backing them up.”
Swoboda won her reelection on Saturday, receiving 978 votes to the 758 received by former State Representative Cory McGarr.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Image “Gina Swoboda” by Gina Swoboda.