Arizona governor race puts two Latter-day Saints at the centre of a faith divided

Andy Biggs and John Giles offer East Valley voters competing visions of Republicanism in a race that could turn on the state's influential Latter-day Saint electorate

By LineZotpaper

Published20 October 2026

Read Time3 min

Sources2 outlets

Arizona's 2026 race for governor has become a contest between two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and former Mesa mayor John Giles, with the state's Latter-day Saint voters poised to play a pivotal role in an election that both parties see as a referendum on the future of Arizona Republicanism.

The East Valley suburbs of Gilbert and Mesa have long been conservative turf, but in this year's race they have become a microcosm of the ideological realignment reshaping Arizona politics, the Deseret News reports.

On one side is U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, a Gilbert resident of 40 years and one of the most steadfast congressional allies of President Donald Trump's "America First" vision. On the other is John Giles, Mesa's mayor from 2014 to 2025, who became a face of Arizona Republicans' small but vocal "Never Trump" movement before leaving the party to join Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' ticket.

Both men are Latter-day Saints, attended Brigham Young University and served two-year missions in Asia. Their head-to-head matchup has prompted many East Valley living rooms to discuss how faith should inform a vote.

Joe and Debbie Tenney, fifth-generation Arizonans whose ancestors helped build the Mesa Temple, back Biggs, their former bishop. "This battle is between, I don't call it right and left, I call it right and wrong," Joe Tenney said.

Gilbert elementary school teacher Suzanne Lunt, a lifelong Republican who left the party over its response to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, is co-chairing a political action committee mobilising opposition to Biggs. "As we're leaving a party that is more hateful and cruel to those marginalized people, it makes me think I am being more like Jesus," she said.

Latter-day Saints make up less than 6% of Arizona's population but have the most congregations of any denomination in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler area. The church's policy states it "does not seek to elect government officials, support or oppose political parties, or, generally, take sides in global conflicts." Church President Dallin H. Oaks has taught that members should decide which issues matter most to them, noting that "no party, platform, or individual candidate can satisfy all personal preferences."

Hobbs won the governorship by 0.3% of the vote, and recent polls show her double-digit advantage narrowing to within the margin of error. Turning Point Action, which has deemed her removal its midterm priority, has spent $18.3 million in the past month on ads backing Biggs and attacking Hobbs.

The gubernatorial winner will influence election certification in 2028, redistricting in 2030, and the state's agenda on growth, drought and polarisation.

Biggs, who chaired the House Freedom Caucus from 2019 to 2022, told the Deseret News his time in Washington left him disillusioned with Congress. "It's so locked in," he said. "Even when we thought we were making wholesale changes, most were swallowed up within 3 to 6 months."

Analysis

Why This Matters

Arizona is a swing state where Democrats have held the governorship since 2014, and the winner will influence election certification in 2028 and redistricting in 2030.
The Latter-day Saint electorate, while small in share of the state population, is concentrated in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler area and could decide a race now within the margin of error.
The contest is a test of whether the GOP can win back statewide office after a string of losses, and of how a faith community navigates deep political division.

Background

Arizona Republicans have lost nearly every statewide office since 2018, including the governorship and both Senate seats for the first time in 70 years. The party has been split between a base that favours candidates focused on election fraud claims, such as Kari Lake, and an old guard that blames those candidates for the party's waning electability. Biggs represents the former camp; Giles, who formally left the GOP, represents the latter. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains institutional political neutrality and has urged members to participate in civic affairs while deciding issues individually.

Key Perspectives

Andy Biggs and his supporters: Biggs is presented as an uncompromising conservative and loyal Trump ally who opposes his own party leadership on spending and surveillance. His backers frame the election in moral terms, describing political division as a prophesied separation of wheat and tares. John Giles and his supporters: Giles is the face of a Never Trump Republicanism that has moved toward Democrats. His allies, including former and current Latter-day Saints like Suzanne Lunt, frame their opposition in religious terms as treating marginalized people with respect. The institutional church: Church policy forbids taking sides in elections, and leaders such as President Dallin H. Oaks have taught that members must weigh competing priorities themselves, leaving room for faithful members to reach different conclusions.

What to Watch

Whether polling in the governor's race continues to tighten or Hobbs rebuilds her lead.
The effect of Turning Point Action's $18.3 million advertising blitz on East Valley voters.
Turnout among Latter-day Saints, particularly in Gilbert and Mesa, and whether the split between two co-religionists depresses or mobilises the bloc.

Sources

East Valley battleground: Latter-day Saints at the center of Arizona’s contentious race for governor · Deseret News Politics
East Valley battleground: Latter-day Saints at the center of Arizona’s contentious race for governor · Deseret News Utah

Checked

12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe Arizona governor race puts two Latter-day Saints at the centre of a divided faith.Deseret News Politics: “The candidates also reflect the nuanced political identities of one particular religious community that has found itself at the center of Arizona’s fight over statewide power.”
SupportedThe race offers competing visions of Republicanism and could turn on the Latter-day Saint electorate.Deseret News Politics: “A voting bloc that has long punched above its weight, the Latter-day Saint electorate could play a pivotal role in deciding between two of their own at the top of the ticket.”
Partly supportedLatter-day Saint voters are poised to play a pivotal role in the election.Deseret News Politics: “A voting bloc that has long punched above its weight, the Latter-day Saint electorate could play a pivotal role in deciding between two of their own at the top of the ticket.”
Partly supportedBoth parties see the election as a referendum on the future of Arizona Republicanism.Deseret News Politics: “They recognized the race as more than a policy debate. It is a referendum on how parties win, keep or alienate a constituency as engaged as the one east of Phoenix.”
SupportedThe race is between U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and former Mesa mayor John Giles, both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.Deseret News Politics: “Both Biggs and Giles are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”
SupportedGiles left the Republican Party and joined Katie Hobbs’ ticket.Deseret News Politics: “John Giles: Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs’ choice of running mate.”
SupportedJoe Tenney said, “This battle is between, I don't call it right and left, I call it right and wrong.”Deseret News Politics: ““This battle is between, I don’t call it right and left, I call it right and wrong,” Joe Tenney said in his Gilbert home.”
SupportedSuzanne Lunt said, “As we're leaving a party that is more hateful and cruel to those marginalized people, it makes me think I am being more like Jesus.”Deseret News Politics: ““As we’re leaving a party that is more hateful and cruel to those marginalized people, it makes me think I am being more like Jesus,” Lunt said from her house across town.”
SupportedThe Church’s policy says it “does not seek to elect government officials, support or oppose political parties, or, generally, take sides in global conflicts.”Deseret News Politics: ““The Church does not seek to elect government officials, support or oppose political parties, or, generally, take sides in global conflicts,” according to church policy .”
SupportedHobbs won the governorship by 0.3% of the vote.Deseret News Politics: “where Hobbs won by just 0.3% of the vote.”
SupportedRecent polls show Hobbs’ double-digit advantage falling within the margin of error.Deseret News Politics: “Recent polls find Hobbs’ double-digit advantage falling into the margin of error”
SupportedTurning Point Action spent $18.3 million in the past month on ads supporting Biggs and attacking Hobbs.Deseret News Politics: “the Arizona-based group has spent $18.3 million in the past month on ads bashing Hobbs and boosting Biggs.”