MEMO: Andy Biggs’ Campaign Is Flailing as His Baggage Catches Up With Him

TO: Interested Parties

FROM: Copper State War Room

RE: Andy Biggs’ Campaign Is Flailing as His Baggage Catches Up With Him

DATE: Tuesday, September 15, 2026

As Arizona’s general election heads into its final stretch, Andy Biggs’ campaign is facing growing questions from Republicans about its lack of energy, resources, and reach beyond the GOP base. Conservative radio hosts say they “don’t feel the energy,” Republican strategists are asking whether the “cavalry” is coming, and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has warned that Biggs may struggle to “get moderates and others.” Meanwhile, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) has refused to commit to investing in Arizona even after Biggs abandoned Arizonans on Election Day to beg for the RGA’s support.

Political observers warned this would happen. Long before Biggs won the nomination, members of his own party were raising concerns about what would happen when his decades-long record finally faced the scrutiny of a statewide general election – and the answer is a floundering campaign limping to November

“I DON’T FEEL THE ENERGY”: REPUBLICANS ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM

Some of the most pointed concerns about Biggs’ campaign are coming from Republicans themselves.

The complaints from party activists about Biggs’ campaign grew so loud that Arizona GOP Chair Sergio Arellano had to use the state party’s newsletter twice to address grassroots concerns. Last month, Arellano acknowledged, “There has been plenty of noise from Republicans complaining that they aren't seeing enough from the Andy Biggs campaign. They wonder where the ads are and why they aren't seeing more of the campaign.” This month, he addressed those concerns again: “I know many of you have been concerned that you haven’t seen ads.” Arizona’s Family reported that the advertising disparity had left the state GOP “defending its strategy” amid concerns from party members.

Former Arizona GOP Chair Gina Swoboda also questioned Republicans’ spending strategy, saying, “Your job is to get to zero,” while noting that despite voting Republican in every election, she was being “bombarded by ads for Governor Hobbs.”

Conservative radio host Garret Lewis has been even more direct. “I got to be honest, me personally, I’m like, I don’t feel the energy,” Lewis told Biggs’ running mate Sine Kerr. “I don’t see the attacks on Katie Hobbs like I think there should be.” Lewis then asked: “What is going on with the Biggs campaign?”

This week, a Republican strategist on Politics Unplugged said Biggs “hasn’t been able to get energy, momentum, donations, spending…” 

Those concerns are not new. Conservative radio hosts and callers into their shows have spent months sounding the alarm and asking whether anyone had “heard from Andy Biggs,” begging for “energy” and “excitement,” lambasting that the campaign was “kind of trying, but it is just not quite working,” and pleading for Biggs to be more “real” and “authentic.”

REPUBLICANS WARNED BIGGS’ BAGGAGE WOULD COME BACK TO HAUNT HIM

Before Biggs even won the primary, Republicans were already raising concerns about how his baggage would hold up in a general election.

During the primary, David Schweikert repeatedly attacked Biggs’ decades-long record, pointing to his votes against Holocaust remembrance and child protection, and accusing him of associating with white supremacists and antisemites. Schweikert also criticized Biggs after Biggs compared himself to Confederate General Robert E. Lee, with Schweikert warning that Biggs wouldn’t be able to explain his record away in a general election.

“You cannot constantly vote against Holocaust remembrances and these sorts of things or vote against protecting our children from really, really bad actors, and then think somehow you’re going to explain it away in a general election in a state where we have not won the top of the ticket in a decade,” Schweikert said.

On KTAR’s political podcast, Schweikert was even more direct: “It is the things he’s done, and there’s no way you’re going to survive a general election if that’s on your record. And I’m sorry it’s uncomfortable, but it’s not my opinion.”

Then, after Biggs won the nomination, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raised his own concerns about Biggs’ ability to appeal beyond the Republican base.

“I’m worried about Arizona because I don’t think the Republican nominee we have, Biggs, could cut across and get moderates and others,” McCarthy said in August. 

Biggs’ troubles are no longer just a concern for Arizona Republicans. McCarthy said, “If he underperforms, he could cost us Congress’ majority.” His warning underscored the national consequences for Biggs’ failing campaign. 

NOW, BIGGS’ BAGGAGE IS CATCHING UP WITH HIM

Biggs’ gubernatorial campaign has brought renewed attention to a record spanning more than two decades in the Arizona Legislature and Congress.

Since winning the nomination, Biggs has been forced to answer for his pattern of votes and actions protecting pedophiles, child abusers, and the most notorious sex trafficker of our time, Jeffrey Epstein. 

The most prominent example is Biggs’ role in blocking bipartisan reforms aimed at Colorado City, where a corrupt pedophile cult was accused of forcing underage girls into marriages and sexual abuse. A bipartisan bill that could have protected women and children passed the Arizona House 52-7 but never received a vote in the Senate, where Biggs was president. The Republican bill sponsor blamed Biggs for killing the legislation and later said, “Women and children suffered three years longer than they should have because he protected the bad guys.”

Biggs’ baggage extends beyond Colorado City, including votes against tougher penalties involving child prostitution and spousal rape, legislation addressing Arizona’s rape-kit backlog, and releasing the Epstein files. 

The scrutiny is also colliding with the issue Arizonans are feeling every day: rising costs. Biggs declared there was “no inflation” while defending tariffs, even as prices were rising. At the same time, the war with Iran has driven fuel costs higher, while Biggs has voted five times against efforts to end U.S. involvement in the conflict. The war alone is estimated to have cost the typical American household $1,650 through higher gas, groceries, and other everyday expenses.

Now Arizonans are learning about Biggs’ longstanding tax-hiking schemes. Biggs has described his support for a 23 percent sales tax as his “most passionate tax issue” and called the new, higher sales tax “nice,” despite the toll it would take on Arizonans’ family budgets.

Republicans warned that Biggs wouldn’t be able to explain away his toxic record in a general election. Now, the nightmare they warned about is playing out: his campaign is in free fall as that baggage follows him into November. 

And with decades of damaging votes and statements still to be examined, Biggs has only begun answering for them.

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