By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- Karin Taylor Robson edged out Andy Biggs in money raised in the last quarter as they compete to be the Republican nominee for governor in 2026.
But the donations tell only part of the story as each hopes to be able to take on incumbent Democrat Katie Hobbs who is seeking another four-year term.
New reports filed Monday show Robson, who made an unsuccessful bid to become the GOP nominee in 2022, listing nearly $575,000 in individual donations and another $2,500 from political action committees.
Biggs, a former state senator and now a member of Congress, had about $610,710 in donations. He also has $50,000 left over from a former campaign for the Legislature.
Robson, however, reports she loaned her campaign more than $2.2 million in the past quarter.
She also has been burning through that with an extensive media campaign, virtually all of it touting that Donald Trump said publicly last year that he would back her if she got into the race. In fact, her report says it has spent $2.2 million in advertising.
So, even with that self-borrowed money, her cash on hand is now about $876,000.
This isn't the first time Robson, who has never held elected office, has dug into her own pocket in her bid for election. She loaned herself $16.9 million in 2022 in her unsuccessful bid to be the GOP nominee, only to lose to Kari Lake -- who, in turn, lost the general election to Hobbs.
Biggs, off to a slower start -- he didn't enter the race until January -- spent only about $180,000 in the past three months, most of that on mailing services and consultants. That leaves him with about $437,000 in the bank.
But Biggs has an edge on something that doesn't show up in his report: Spending on his behalf.
A lot of it.
Turning Point Action which supports what it says are conservative candidates, reported it already has spent nearly $459,000 on behalf of Biggs. That includes $352,00 for TV ads.
Much of the PACs funds were was funneled through 1Ten LLC, owned by state Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican who heads the Arizona Freedom Caucus. Hoffman describes his operation as a full-service agency handling everything from TV, radio and cable TV ads to social media and mail.
These independent expenditures are not limited by state law. There is only a requirement they be listed and that the organizations behind them cannot coordinate with the candidate.
Robson also is getting the benefit of outside spending, this from Building a Better Arizona, a political action committee that was formed specifically to help Robson get the nomination. It is being chaired by former state Senate President Karen Fann.
In a press release when it was set up in January, Fann said she and Robert Graham, former chairman of the Arizona Republican Party, believe Robson has the best chance of ousting the incumbent, something that "has not happened in over 60 years.''
In her own report filed late Monday, Hobbs reported receipts of $1.3 million. That includes nearly $53,000 from Copper State Values, a separate political action committee set up to separately spend money on her behalf of her reelection, in "shared expenses.''
Her spending in the past quarter was close to $810,000, leaving her with nearly $4.7 million cash on hand.
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