Fiscal hawk in governor's race seeks to modernize Arizona

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The Center Square) - The latest candidate in the race for Arizona governor - U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, a fiscal hawk - says Arizona is ready for a “dramatic modernization."

In September, the Scottsdale Republican announced his candidacy. Schweikert now enters a GOP primary race with Karrin Taylor Robson and U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert.

Arizona’s GOP gubernatorial primary election will occur on Aug. 4, 2026. The winner will likely face Gov. Katie Hobbs, the presumptive Democratic nominee, who last week announced her campaign for a second term, in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. "I’m running to serve you for four more years because there’s more work to do,” she said, as reported by The Center Square.

During an interview Friday, Schweikert told The Center Square that the Arizona government can be changed to do things “dramatically” faster, better and cheaper. 

Arizona has experienced multi-billion-dollar fraud in its Medicaid system, stories of hundreds of millions of dollars disappearing and other government scams, he noted. In a world with modern technology and auditing, Schweikert said, “None of this should be happening.”  

Schweikert also said there was a “handful of things” that motivated him to run for governor rather than stay in Congress.

The representative said he believes Congress “is just broken," but noted he believes Arizona can be saved. That's why he'd rather be governor.

Schweikert, known as a fiscal hawk, said the federal government is borrowing approximately $70,000 per second every day. 

He said he has attempted to introduce bills that would modernize the federal government, but added he can’t get his colleagues to be “intellectually serious” about the issue. 

“We’re too busy selling dopamine hits on saying crazy things, introducing pieces of legislation that satiate anger and [do] not save the future,” Schweikert said.

As governor, he would focus on government spending, Schweikert noted. Arizona currently faces a $1.6 billion budget deficit through Fiscal Year 2025, The Center Square reported. 

If elected governor, he would go much further than reigning in the budget, Schweikert told The Center Square.

Arizona needs to consider revolutionizing the way it utilizes technology and other resources to deliver government services, the gubernatorial candidate said. 

He added there are “ways to revolutionize government and crash the cost of it.”

The federal government funds 45% of Arizona’s budget, according to Schweikert, who added Congress is borrowing almost all the federal money that goes to the state.

The representative noted states are going to need to get ready for when the federal government's money to states is reduced. 

When analyzing a budget, every dollar needs to be scrutinized, he explained.  

Schweikert also noted Arizona no longer has a low cost of living.

Wages have not kept pace with inflation that took place during the Biden administration, he said.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the average home price in Arizona has increased. In January 2020, the average home cost in Arizona was $281,574. Almost six years later, the average home in Arizona costs $422,446.

Housing prices are not “magically going to come down,” Schweikert said.

To bring prices down, wages need to increase and more houses must be built, the gubernatorial candidate said.

The Common Sense Institute released a report in June stating Arizona will always have a housing deficit. 

According to Schweikert on another topic, President Donald Trump should be given “remarkable credit” for stopping the flow of illegal immigration coming into America. 

Since Trump took office a second time, apprehensions at America’s borders have fallen to record levels. To illustrate, in August, America apprehended 8,089 illegal immigrants. Compared to August 2024, America apprehended 60,684. This represents an 87% decrease in apprehensions of illegal immigrants, which suggests a large decline in the number trying to cross the southern border.

What Trump has done shows the things Biden stated about the border “were absolute lies,” Schweikert noted.

Arizona did “some things well” regarding border security before Hobbs became governor, he said. He added federal law enforcement and state law enforcement need to work together to address this issue.

Hobbs, meanwhile, has vetoed five bills related to illegal immigration. She vetoed Senate Bill 1231, also known as the Arizona Border Invasion Act, last year, which would have made it a crime to enter Arizona outside a proper port of entry. 

This year, Hobbs has vetoed four bills: SB 1164, SB 1610, SB 1268 and House Bill 2099.

SB 1164, also known as the Arizona ICE Act, would have mandated state and local law enforcement agencies to comply with federal government immigration authorities. 

SB 1610 attempted to require county jails to share photos and booking data with the federal government for people arrested for specific crimes. 

SB 1268 would have required Arizona hospitals to check for immigration status and make Medicaid-accepting hospitals report every quarter about how many illegal immigrants they treated.  

HB 2099 would have mandated Arizona towns, cities and state agencies to comply with federal government immigration authorities. 

Another concern that will be prominent on the campaign trail is education. Schweikert told The Center Square that he is a “big believer in parental choice.” 

He cited his work in the state Legislature that helped bring school choice to Arizona in 1994, after then-Gov. Fife Symington signed HB 2002 into law. 

If someone were to dive deep into Arizona’s educational data, the person would find the state is “making real progress,” he noted. However, Schweikert stated some areas need improvement, such as students' reading scores in the lower grades. 

Arizona Democrats have raised concerns about the cost of the state’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program, under which the money that would have paid for a student's education in a neighborhood school follows the student to another school chosen by parents or for home schooling.

Schweikert said he finds it amusing when a Democrat is “actually concerned about spending.”

He claimed that Democrats are beholden to teachers' unions and other public employee unions. 

Speaking about his two Republican opponents, Schweikert told The Center Square he is “fond of both of them” and has known them for most of his life. 

However, as a candidate, he said there is no one in Arizona  “over the last couple of decades who has demonstrated the ability to win repeatedly over and over these incredibly competitive races.”

“ I've beaten two incumbent members of Congress in my time. We've demonstrated there is a way to win and be a conservative,” he explained.

Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, said in a statement to The Center Square that there are differences in the way Democratic and Republican governors have run their administrations in Arizona. 

Petersen noted the Republicans have focused on increasing public safety and border security, reducing taxes, eliminating regulations and promoting energy independence. 

Democrats “lean toward regulation and taxation,” extensive social programs and “aggressive renewable energy mandates,” Petersen stated. 

The election between Hobbs and the winner of the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary is expected to be close.

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election analyzer, said the Arizona gubernatorial race is a toss-up. 

A poll released in September by Noble Predictive Insights found 51% of Arizonans said the state is going in the wrong direction.