Facing Racism and Antisemitism Attacks from His Own Party, Biggs Turns to Robert E. Lee
3/17/26, 9:00 PM
According to a new report from Arizona’s Family, Andy Biggs is defending himself against accusations from David Schweikert about his ties to white supremacist and antisemitic figures. His response: invoking Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Biggs praised the Confederate general as an example of how to handle criticism, drawing immediate backlash from Schweikert, who said, “If you really intend to win an election in Arizona, I’m not sure you go around comparing yourself to a Confederate general.”
Biggs declined to comment on camera for this story, but his opponent “jumped at the chance.” Schweikert has been escalating attacks on Biggs’ ties to extremists. Last week, Arizona’s Family uncovered a campaign flyer paid for by Schweikert’s campaign that highlights “Andy Biggs’ record on white supremacy and anti-Semitism.”
Schweikert doubled down on a radio segment, saying, unlike Biggs, he would not “show up at events with the Proud Boys” or “say anti-Semitic things.”
Read more below:
Arizona’s Family: Rep. Biggs cites Robert E. Lee defending himself against white supremacy accusations
Dennis Welch
March 16, 2026
With Arizona’s Republican primary for governor still months away, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs—widely viewed as a front-runner in the race—is facing intensifying scrutiny as opponents sharpen their attacks.
That pressure spiked earlier this month after fellow Republican Congressman David Schweikert criticized Biggs in a radio appearance and campaign mailer, accusing Biggs of associating with antisemitic figures and white supremacists.
The issue followed Biggs to a recent appearance at the Sun Lakes Republican Club, where an attendee asked him directly how he planned to counter the accusations.
Biggs pushed back, suggesting the claims were politically motivated and noting that colleagues who have known him for decades had not raised such concerns until now.
“So maybe they’re the ones that are antisemitic. I didn’t know,” Biggs said. “Bottom line is this, there isn’t anybody who knows me that believes that at all.”
Biggs then pointed to his long-standing support for Israel before reaching back into American history—invoking Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as an example of how to handle criticism.
After an attendee supplied Lee’s name, Biggs described the Confederate general as someone who endured controversy by refusing to be consumed by his critics. Biggs recounted a story in which Lee was asked his opinion of someone who had criticized him, and Lee responded positively, saying he had been asked what he thought of the man, not what the man thought of him.
Schweikert, however, criticized the comparison with the Confederate general.
“Look, I’ll hold up my conservative credentials to anyone,” Schweikert said. “But if you really intend to win an election in Arizona, I’m not sure you go around comparing yourself to a Confederate general.”
Schweikert said the Civil War’s death toll and the Republican Party’s historical role should make such references especially problematic for GOP candidates.
“Just the history of that, the understanding of how many Americans died in that war,” Schweikert said. “And those of us on the Republican side remember we’re the abolitionist party. We were on the other side.”
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