Copper State Chaos: Inflation Is Not Tamed, Andy!; Full Tank, Empty Wallet; Overcaffeinated

Welcome to Copper State Chaos, Copper State War Room’s weekly recap on the fails, feuds, and full-blown chaos in the Arizona Republican gubernatorial primary.

With Andy Biggs and David Schweikert locked in a bitter race to the bottom, this primary is spiraling into an ugly, expensive mess. We’ll keep the receipts – so you don’t have to.

Don’t miss this week’s chaos:

INFLATION IS NOT TAMED, ANDY!: Arizonans paid an extra $2,200 for goods and services because of Andy Biggs and David Schweikert’s cost-hiking tariff agenda, according to a new Joint Economic Committee report. This includes $457 more for transportation costs, the fourth-highest cost of any state, driven in part by rising gas prices following Biggs and Schweikert’s support of the Iran war. These prices will only increase this summer with new tariff taxes going into effect. Despite the Supreme Court ruling these tariffs unconstitutional, Biggs and Schweikert voted twice this year to maintain them. Biggs has called tariffs “a brilliant economic strategy” and argued that the tariffs were “not inflationary,” before claiming that Washington has “tamed inflation.” Schweikert bragged about personally “doing the calculations” with the White House on tariffs and proposed his own new tax instead of offering Arizonans relief.

FULL TANK, EMPTY WALLET: Arizona’s regular gas prices could hit new “all-time records” exceeding $6 per gallon if the war in Iran continues, according to Gas Buddy. Diesel hit its all-time high of $6.28 last month, and unfortunately, there’s no clear end in sight. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and President Trump acknowledged that fuel prices could remain high or “maybe a little bit higher” into 2027. Arizona’s Family reported that these rising costs could "spell doom" for the Republican Party in November, suggesting "it’s time for Republicans to panic." Arizonans have not forgotten that both Andy Biggs and David Schweikert have supported the war and policies keeping gas prices on the rise. 

OVERCAFFEINATED: If you drink too much coffee in the morning, you might get the jitters or a headache. For David Schweikert, that extra cup of joe has a new side effect: extremist conspiracies and denying election results. This week, Arizona’s Family came out with a new report detailing how Schweikert claimed Arizona’s 2022 attorney general race was “probably stolen,” before attempting to walk back the comments by saying he was “overcaffeinated.” Election denialism is again at the forefront in the Arizona’s governor’s race, after Biggs continued to back Donald Trump’s renewed efforts to reinvestigate and relitigate Arizona’s extensively reviewed 2020 election. Amidst this, Biggs and Schweikert continue to undermine the will of Arizona voters, doubling down on the same Kari Lake election conspiracy playbook that Arizonans have repeatedly rejected and continuing to undermine the will of Arizona voters. 

That’s all for Copper State Chaos this week. Thanks for reading – we’ll be back next week to keep tabs on the chaos. Have a great weekend!

###