Copper State Chaos: Pain at the Pump, Happy Tariffversary!, and Fooling Voters

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:

PAIN AT THE PUMP: Because of Andy Biggs and David Schweikert’s full-throated support for the war in Iran, gas prices hit $4 per gallon nationally. Arizona also led the nation with a 70 percent increase in diesel prices over the last 30 days, reaching a new all-time high of $6.07 per gallon. Diesel’s critical importance to the trucking industry means even sharper price increases across the entire supply chain, and in turn, higher prices on everyday goods forworking families. Yesterday, Amazon added a universal 3.5 percent “fuel and logistics charge,” and United Airlines hiked baggage fees. It will only get worse.

HAPPY TARIFFVERSARY! CAN WE BREAK UP?: Yesterday marked one year since Andy Biggs and David Schweikert’s signature tariff tax agenda took effect. They voted twice this year to protect these tariffs, with Biggs deeming tariffs “a brilliant economic strategy,” and Schweikert bragging about “doing the calculations” with the White House to set tariff rates. Arizonans aren’t celebrating, having paid out an additional $1.6 billion due to tariffs in 2025 alone. American households as a whole are paying an extra $1,700. Arizona families are paying more at the grocery store, doctor’s office, gas pump, and across the board, while Arizona small businesses face operating costs that are up to 900 percent higher. Unfortunately, because of Biggs and Schweikert’s steadfast commitment to protecting tariffs, these day-to-day costs will rise even higher in 2026. In fact, just two days ago, ground beef hit a new all-time high.

FOOLING VOTERS: With every passing week, Arizona witnesses a new battle in the war between David Schweikert and Andy Biggs. This week, Schweikert mentioned how he was conservative, but “not a jerk about it,” taking a swipe at Biggs’ extremist reputation (pot calling the kettle black, here!), then he attacked Biggs in a tweet, arguing he could actually win in a general election, whereas Biggs could not. This resulted in a back-and-forth over perceived strength between Biggs’ allies at Turning Point USA and Schweikert’s chief consultant. Schweikert also called out Biggs for trying to “fool voters” with his “fraud” balanced budget amendment, after voting for the legislation himself. No, this is not an April Fool’s joke.

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!

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