In campaign launch statement, GOP businesswoman says she ‘will not rest until our border is secure and Arizona families are safe’
Arizona Republican businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson is running for governor in 2026, she announced in a statement shared with the Washington Free Beacon.
The formal announcement comes roughly two months after President Donald Trump endorsed her candidacy during a speech in Arizona. “Are you running for governor? I think so, Karrin,” Trump said. “‘Cause if you do, you’re gonna have my support, ok?” Robson touted the endorsement in her statement, pledging to “fight every day alongside President Trump for stronger borders, a stronger economy, and a stronger Arizona.”
“Like President Trump, I know how to create jobs,” Robson said. “And like President Trump, I will not rest until our border is secure and Arizona families are safe.”
Robson first ran for governor in a crowded 2022 primary that included former news anchor Kari Lake and former GOP congressman Matt Salmon. Robson started the race as a relative unknown but closed the gap on Lake in the final weeks, ultimately losing by less than 5 points.
This time around, Robson will face a primary fight against congressman Andy Biggs, who launched his own gubernatorial campaign in late January. Should Robson win that race, she will likely square off against Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs—though some Democrats in the state have flirted with a primary challenge, citing Hobbs’s political weakness. Hobbs beat Lake by less than a point in 2022, and Trump went on to win Arizona by 6 points in November.
The race against Hobbs will likely center on illegal immigration and border security. While nearly 60 percent of voters approve of Trump’s mass deportation plans, Hobbs has opposed them, saying she won’t “use state resources to go into communities and round up people that aren’t causing harm.”
“We are working with local communities … to make sure that folks have their resources they need,” she said in response to Trump’s deportation efforts last month. “We’re making sure that Arizonans aren’t getting caught up in racial profiling, in situations where citizens are being caught up in deportation.”
Robson criticized Hobbs in her launch statement, saying the Democrat has “made it harder to live, work, and raise a family safely in this state.”
“Katie Hobbs and Joe Biden’s insane agenda has made life more expensive and dangerous,” she said, calling Hobbs an “open-borders career politician.”
