By Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX -- David Schweikert on Tuesday said he wants to be Arizona's next governor, shaking up what was already expected to be a contentious race among Republicans.
Schweikert, who has served as a state legislator and Maricopa County treasurer before being elected to Congress in 2010, becomes a factor in what until now has been a head-to-head between fellow GOP Congressman Andy Biggs and business owner Karin Taylor Robson.
It also makes him the only Republican who does not have the endorsement of President Trump in a party that has become increasingly under the sway of the "Make American Great Again'' movement.
Schweikert, however, told Capitol Media Services he sees a path to victory, particularly given his record of being elected multiple times in a congressional district that is considered one of the most politically competitive in the state.
"I think if you run as the actual conservative instead of your perceived anger, I think that works,'' he said. "And I actually have polling that says that works.''
And that, Schweikert said, comes down to messaging.
"I'm with the free market,'' he said.
"I believe prosperity is moral,'' Schweikert continued. "Doing better in life is our mission.''
But he also enters the race with a combination of frustration with how things operate in Washington as well as his belief he can turn around the fortunes of the Republican Party in Arizona.
"It's more than frustration,'' he told Capitol Media Services. "I am at a point where I am livid all the time and I come home angry.''
And much of that is aimed at members of his own party.
"I actually introduced the bills that have 'Medicare' in the title,'' Schweikert said.
"You're not allowed to do that,'' he said. "And I can't get a single other member to sponsor.''
There's something else.
Schweikert, at 63, is the parent of two adopted children, ages 9 and 3.
"When you're gone 60% of the time, and your wife, their mother, is home alone with the kids, there's some unhappiness,'' he said.
As to fixing the GOP in Arizona, Schweikert noted that Democrats won statewide races in 2022 for governor, secretary of state and attorney general, as well as for the U.S. Senate despite the fact the GOP has a voter registration edge in Arizona.
And it goes back even farther, to the inability of Republicans deliver the state to Donald Trump in 2020 or hang on to a Senate seat in 2018.
Schweikert contends that if he heads the GOP ticket in 2026 he will draw out more Republicans than either Biggs or Robson.
Robson, in a prepared statement, said she welcomes Schweikert into the race, saying it will give voters a clear choice between "a Trump-endorsed conservative outsider who built her success in the private sector, or yet another career politician.''
Biggs responded with a survey conducted earlier this month -- before Schweikert made his announcement -- that shows he has the support of 48% of likely Republican voters in a three-way race, with Robson at 26% and Schweikert at 11%.