Petersen applauds Biggs' choice of Kerr as running mate

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(The Center Square)- Senate President Warren Petersen praised U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs for choosing Sine Kerr as his gubernatorial running mate.

Last week, Biggs, R-Gilbert, chose the former state legislator to be his lieutenant governor.

“Sine knows Arizona’s agriculture community as well as anyone and has the respect of farmers, ranchers, and policy makers from around the state," Bigg said. "She’s worked across the aisle to get things done at the Legislature."

After being named to Biggs’ ticket, Kerr, who served in the Arizona Senate from 2018 to 2025, said she is “truly honored to join this campaign” and help bring back the American dream to Arizona.

Peterson, R-Gilbert, who worked with Kerr in the Legislature, told The Center Square Monday that Biggs choosing her as his running mate for Arizona governor is a “really smart pick.

“She was always really hardworking, intelligent and very professional,” he said.

Petersen noted in the Legislature, Kerr worked well with other stakeholders and took on big bills, which she was successful at passing.

Some of the key bills Kerr sponsored included Kayleigh’s Law, which gives victims of sex crimes the right to seek a lifetime, no-contact injunction against their perpetrator.

Kerr also sponsored Senate Bill 1740, which provided over $1 billion in Arizona’s Water Infrastructure Finance Authority to help deal with the state’s water drought in 2022.

According to Petersen, Kerr will be able to connect with rural Arizonans because she is from the West Valley, an area with lots of farming.

“Rural Arizona will always have a seat at the table in a Biggs-Kerr Administration,” Kerr noted.

Petersen, who is running for Arizona attorney general, said this type of selection shows that Biggs will be a good governor of Arizona.

“Republicans are happy” with Kerr as the choice, Petersen explained.

He said if he is elected, he will “have a great relationship” working with Biggs and Kerr.

Starting in 2027, Arizona will have a lieutenant governor for the first time. Voters approved Proposition 131 in 2022, creating the new government position via constitutional amendment.

Petersen said the lieutenant governor will have an “active role” within the administration. The governor could ask the lieutenant governor to work with the Legislature or oversee special initiatives, he said.  

Mike Noble, the CEO of the polling firm Noble Predictive Insights, told The Center Square by text on Monday that neither Biggs nor Gov. Katie Hobbs ’ running mate will determine how voters will vote in November.

"Voters cast their ballots for the top of the ticket, not the second name,” Noble said. “The lieutenant governor pick matters more as a signal about the kind of administration a candidate intends to build than as a deciding factor for swing voters. Unless a running mate becomes a major story in their own right, it’s unlikely to have a significant impact on the outcome.”