From Yuma to Phoenix, Arizona Leaders and Small Business Owners Call Out Biggs, Taylor Robson, and Schweikert For Supporting Cost-Hiking Tariffs

Last week, Arizona leaders and small business owners held press conferences in Phoenix and Yuma to call out Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson, and David Schweikert for supporting tariffs, which have driven costs to all-time highs for Arizona families and dampened their holiday season.

Both KYMA and KAWC reached out to request comment, and all three GOP candidates declined, refusing to defend their cost-hiking agenda that is hurting families during the holidays. That silence is nothing new.

Biggs, Taylor Robson, and Schweikert have refused to stand up for Arizona small businesses and families, choosing instead to back tariffs that even multiple Trump-supporting Arizona business owners have said are “clobbering” their companies.

Read and watch more below:

KAWC: Yuma Democrats say state Republicans' support of tariffs raising costs

Victor Calderón

December 20, 2025

• Democrats in Yuma say Arizona Republicans' support of tariffs is raising costs for residents, especially during the holiday season. Local party leaders met Thursday in the Yuma Foothills to call out GOP gubernatorial candidates Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson and David Schweikert for supporting Trump tariffs.

  
  

• Their tariff policies "are leading to an affordability crisis that puts our community at risk," said Charlene Fernandez, the Arizona Democratic Party chair and a Yuma resident. "Our number 1 concern in Arizona is that Washington keeps raising our prices."

  
  

• KAWC reached out to the Republican candidates but have not heard back.

  
  

• Karime Hayer is the owner of Nichim Cafe in the Yuma Foothills. She said she voted for Trump twice. Her business imports coffee from Mexico.

  
  

• Hayer said she has no choice but to increase prices on some menu items because of tariffs.

  
  

• Fernandez said the Arizona Chamber of Commerce has said tariffs are a direct tax on consumers. "Democrats will never stop fighting to lower costs for Arizonans," she said. "While Republicans turn a blind eye to Yuma, Democrats will always lend an ear to rural Arizona voices."

  
  

• "If Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylot Robson and David Schweikert can't stand up to Trump to lower prices now, how can we ever trust them to stand up for Arizona as our governor?"

  
  

Yuma Sun: Yuma Dems blame federal tariffs for driving up holiday costs

Josh Bootzin

December 18, 2025

• Arizona Democratic Party Chair Charlene Fernandez and Yuma County Democratic Party Chair Xanthe Bullard gathered at Wicked Taco in East Yuma on Thursday to condemn Republican legislators for supporting federal tariffs that they say have increased the cost of living for Arizonans and driven holiday grocery prices to record levels.

  
  

• “Rent is higher than ever, groceries are more expensive every single week,” Bullard said. “Coffee prices are up more than 20% compared to last year, the biggest increase since the 1990s. Beef is at record highs… and now we’re told health insurance premiums could rise up to 75%. That’s the biggest increase in 15 years. Tariffs are not some abstract policy. They are a wrecking ball to our local economy.” 

  
  

• They noted that all three Republican candidates for the 2026 Arizona gubernatorial election have shown their support for President Trump’s tariff-led economic agenda. As House representatives, Andy Biggs and David Schweikert both voted against Democrats’ efforts to roll back tariffs.

  
  

• “These candidates support driving up costs across Arizona, hurting ranchers with shortages and pushing ground beef to record-high prices,” Fernandez said. “Arizona’s agricultural exports support almost 7,500 Copper State jobs, according to the University of Arizona. Tariffs hurt Arizona more than they hurt other states. We export much more agricultural products than we import. If we lose those markets, those farms fail. It’s that simple.”

  
  

• Karime Hayer, a two-time Trump voter, owner of Nichim Cafe and Boutique, located next door to Wicked Taco, shared that she has to raise her prices for coffee to stay afloat.

  
  

• “That’s a huge impact. We’re definitely going to have to increase our prices due to tariffs.”

  
  

• Fernandez openly criticized Biggs, Schweikert and Karrin Taylor Robson for their continual support of federal tariffs despite their effect on Arizona’s lower-class workers and families.

  
  

• “We understand that a strong Arizona economy means protecting our trade, our workers and our wallets,” Fernandez said. “Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson and David Schweikert know tariffs are raising our costs. They don’t care. They’re proud of it. They’re bragging about it. All while Arizonans pay more for everything we need to survive.” 

  
  

• “Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson and David Schweikert need to explain to Yuma families why they’re fighting to make our groceries more expensive and our jobs less secure,” Bullard said. “If they continue to support these tariffs, they’re choosing to hurt Arizonans across the state.”

  
  

KYMA: Arizona leaders call out tariff supporters in the state

Danyelle Burke North

December 18, 2025

• Arizona democratic party chair Charlene Fernandez and Yuma leaders spoke out in the Foothills. They called out three Republican gubernatorial candidates saying their support for Trump's tariffs are raising holiday costs.

  
  

• "But right now, the tariff policies of Andy Biggs, Karen Taylor Robertson, and David Schweikert are leading to an affordability crisis that puts our community at risk," said Arizona democratic party chair Charlene Fernandez.

  
  

• Yuma leaders called out Republican gubernatorial candidates Andy Biggs, Karrin Taylor Robson, and David Schweikert.

  
  

• “Schweikert bragged that he was doing the calculations with the White House, which called it- tariffs a brilliant economic strategy. Taylor Robson encouraged Trump to keep fighting for tariffs, to keep fighting for higher costs," said Fernandez.

  
  

• Both Robson and Biggs took to Twitter commenting in support of Trump tariffs. And in an interview with 12 News in Phoenix, Schweikert said he worked on the tariffs saying quote "I’m probably on the phone with the White House every other day.”

  
  

• "Tariff hurts Arizona more than they hurt other states. We export much more agriculture product than we import. If we lose those markets, those farms fail. It's that simple," said Fernandez.

  
  

• They say tariff’s are also hurting local small businesses.

  
  

• "Rent is higher than ever. Groceries are more expensive every single week. Coffee prices are up more than 20% compared to last year. It's the biggest increase since the 1990's on coffee," said Yuma County democratic party chair Xanthe Bullard.

  
  

• I stopped by a local coffee shop to hear if they are impacted by the tariffs.

  
  

• "We used to have a flat rate from our vendor. Now that flat rate has increased by 25%, and that's a huge impact when I don't have prices that much into my cost already, so prices are going up. Tariff's now affecting some of that cost," said Nichim Cafe owner Karime Hayer.

  
  

• We reached out to the three Republican leaders that the democrats called out, and we are still waiting to hear back from them.

  
  

(ORIGINAL ARTICLE IN SPANISH)

Prensa Arizona: Democrats call on Republicans to speak out against tariffs

Oscar Ramos

December 18, 2025

• Democratic and community leaders in Arizona held the first press conference in Spanish of the 2026 election cycle, with a message directed at Hispanic families, demanding that Republican candidates for governor publicly reject President Trump's tariffs.

  
  

• The targeted congressmen are Andy Biggs and David Schweikert, as well as construction businesswoman Karrin Taylor Robson, who have fully supported these economic measures.

  
  

• College student Jazmine Garcia highlighted the frustration felt by many young people: “I work hard, I contribute to this community, but that promise is being broken by out-of-control prices thanks to Trump's tariffs.”

  
  

• State Senator Flavio Bravo, for his part, directly challenged the candidates: “Will you stand up for us or continue to support tariffs over Arizonans? It's a simple choice,” he said.

  
  

• The economic impact of tariffs is at the heart of the debate, and more than fifty Arizona business leaders have warned of the damage they cause. Danny Seiden, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, put it bluntly: “A tariff is paid by those of us who import goods into this country, and then those costs are passed on to consumers; it's essentially a tax.”

  
  

• Uncertainty reigns among small business owners like Gabe Hagen, owner of a coffee shop in Tempe, who says that “uncertainty definitely makes planning difficult.” Experts at the University of Arizona explain that tariffs affect supply, making it more expensive to import products and putting “upward pressure on prices.”

  
  

• The agricultural sector, vital to Arizona, is particularly concerned; “when it comes to tariffs, the agricultural industry often bears the brunt of retaliation,” said Philip Bashaw of the Arizona Farm Bureau.

  
  

• The Spanish-language press conference is not an isolated event, but rather a strategy to connect with a key constituency in a state where the race is fierce, with analysts ranking the gubernatorial election as one of the most hotly contested in the country.

  
  

• Democrats are thus seeking to capitalize on economic discontent and make a clear distinction with voters who feel the direct impact on their wallets, while the Republicans' response so far has been to maintain their support for Trump's trade policy.

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