Op-Ed: Republicans Should Care Who Democrats Want To Run Against

Political history has a funny way of repeating itself—especially when it comes to Democrats quietly boosting their preferred Republican in a primary, hoping they’ll avoid a tougher opponent in the general.

We’ve seen this playbook before. In 2010, Senator Harry Reid’s team subtly worked to elevate Sharron Angle in Nevada’s GOP primary by targeting her main rival, Sue Lowden, with negative ads. Reid knew Angle’s extreme positions and gaffe-prone style made her beatable—and he was right. Angle was ahead of Reid coming out of her primary in a Tea-Party year, then her obvious flaws tanked her campaign and Reid survived.  Replace Harry Reid, the Democrat leader in the US Senate with Republican Sue Lowden, and you change history for the better.

Fast forward to 2012 in Missouri, where Democrats spent money labeling Todd Akin “too conservative” during the GOP primary. Akin was trailing in fundraising and support, yet won—arguably thanks to that strategic “attack” from Democrats who knew the ads would boost him with his primary voters. He went on to lose badly in the general.

Today, we see early signs of the same maneuver in Arizona’s 2026 Governor’s race. Democrats, protecting a vulnerable Katie Hobbs, are already dropping subtle hits at Karrin Taylor Robson—thanking her on social media for supporting Democrats or liberal causes in the past, and Biggs’ supporters are taking that Democrat message and amplifying it because it suits their goals. Of course Democrats aren’t actually grateful to her and they have no interest in saying good things about her, so will voters recognize this transparent effort to damage her standing with GOP primary voters?

What is clear from their early attacks is that Democrats don’t want to face Robson, a polished candidate who nearly won the nomination in 2022 and who, according to most, would have beaten Hobbs handily in the general election.  Instead, Democrats got to run against Kari Lake and narrowly won a race that should never have been close.

Democrats are rooting for Congressman Andy Biggs — whose appeal in a Republican primary is clear, but whose long voting record will contain liabilities in a statewide general election where he will need moderates and independents to win.

This is not idle speculation. An open-minded look at the history of gubernatorial elections in Arizona reveals that among the 11 governors we have elected over the last 50 years, 5 have been Republicans and 6 have been Democrats. Among the 5 Republicans, 4 can be characterized as RINO’s, using the current definition of the term. They are Symington, Hull, Brewer, and Ducey. The 5^th Republican, Mecham, is difficult to characterize.

Strong conservatives have not won a single general election for governor in the last 50 years. Winners have been either moderate Republicans or Democrats.

Republican voters may respect Biggs’ principles. They may even prefer his conservative resume. But they should also ask themselves: if Democrats are working overtime to make him the nominee, what does that say about his chances next November?

Sometimes, the loudest applause comes from the other team.

🚨 AZ Democrats sent out press release saying "THANK YOU" to a REPUBLICAN candidate for governor??

This is NOT a joke.

Excerpts from the press release ⬇️

"The Arizona Democratic Party would like to extend a warm "thank you" to KARRIN TAYLOR ROBSON for her longtime financial… pic.twitter.com/5fziHPRHPK

— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) August 13, 2025