As they weigh lieutenant governor picks, Biggs and Hobbs are both chasing John McCain’s voters

Gov. Katie Hobbs and Rep. Andy Biggs have yet to name their running mates — the first time Arizona gubernatorial candidates must choose a lieutenant governor — but they’re already telling voters exactly what they’re thinking.

The frenzy over who each will choose to be first in the line of succession isn’t just political gossip. The pick will show which voters they believe they still need to win on Nov. 3 and how much they’re willing to bend to get them.

Both Hobbs and Biggs already gave us clear clues.

Biggs, a staunch conservative, cruised through the Republican primary with deep MAGA support. Then, almost immediately after locking up the nomination, he began looking just a little less MAGA.

The day after the July 21 primary, Biggs released a 30-second ad touting his work with the late Sen. John McCain on the “Ashlynne Mike AMBER Alert in Indian Country Act.”

This is the same Biggs who, to my knowledge, hardly uttered McCain’s name during the primary and stayed silent when fellow MAGA firebrand Kari Lake bragged that she and her base had “drove a stake through the heart of the McCain machine.”

Now that same McCain legacy suddenly looks indispensable for Biggs?  

Biggs clearly understands he can’t alienate the traditional Republicans and right-leaning independents who once made up the McCain coalition if he hopes to beat Hobbs.

Of course, Hobbs needs the backing of those voters, too.

According to The New York Times and others, Hobbs “floated the possibility” of offering the newly created lieutenant governor gig to McCain’s son, Jimmy McCain, and former Republican Mesa Mayor John Giles. Both reportedly declined.

That says plenty about the mindset inside both campaigns.

This is the first election in Arizona history in which gubernatorial candidates must choose a lieutenant governor under the voter-approved 2022 amendment to the state constitution. They have until Sept. 4 to announce their picks, though they shouldn’t wait.

Until now, Arizona’s secretary of state has been next in line to become governor. But because those are elected independently, voters have from time to time placed members of different parties in those roles — as happened when Republican Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached in 1988 and Democrat Rose Mofford was elevated to governor, and again in 2009, when Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano left to join the Obama administration and Republican Jan Brewer became governor.

The No. 2 will also serve at the governor’s discretion, potentially as chief of staff or in another senior role.

So, who else is on the list or most mentioned?

Biggs featured Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in the same ad I mentioned earlier, and I hear her name a lot as a possible choice. She’s well respected in law enforcement circles and is generally viewed as a more traditional Republican than many in today’s MAGA wing.

Others frequently mentioned include Corporation Commissioner Lea Márquez Peterson, Maricopa County Supervisor Debbie Lesko and former Arizona GOP Chairman Jonathan Lines.

State Reps. Teresa Martinez and Michele Peña also get mentioned, though with how little name recognition they’d bring to the table, it seems unlikely Biggs would select them or any other sitting state legislator for that matter.

Hobbs, meanwhile, will need to look beyond Jimmy McCain and Giles, unless she convinces one of them.

Pundits say she needs a Republican, preferably a white man, to strengthen her standing with moderates and independents.

Giles and Jimmy McCain still top almost every list and chat. Some Latino leaders have a wish-list of sorts that includes former Corporation Commissioner Anna Tovar, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero and Maricopa County Supervisor Steve Gallardo.

All those are Democrats, so my gut tells me Hobbs will probably pass them over for a Republican or some white man or woman. Plus, Hobbs might be assuming, mistakenly, that Hispanic voters are already with her.

No doubt both campaigns will make a pragmatic decision. That’s politics.

But the lieutenant governor pick will do more than help fill out a ticket. It will show which voters Biggs and Hobbs think still need convincing.