Is it wrong or right for senior Republican Party leaders to be actively involved in recruiting challengers or endorsing candidates in contested Republican primaries? That is the simple question getting a lot of attention among members of the Arizona Republican grassroots.
State party bylaws have no such prohibition, but current Arizona Republican National Committeeman Jake Hoffman and former Arizona Republican National Committeeman Tyler Bowyer have been regularly attacking the Arizona Republican Party State Chairman Gina Swoboda, accusing her of recruiting David Schweikert to run for Governor in what is already a contested primary, and for leaning in on his behalf in that race. According to her detractors, Swoboda’s conduct is unacceptable, a violation of the spirit of party rules, and should result in her immediate resignation from office.
For her part, Swoboda denies recruiting anyone to run for Governor and there is no actual evidence of her having done so, but her supporters go further, pointing out that Bowyer routinely weighed in on party primaries and attacked other Republicans during his term as national committeeman, and Hoffman himself has been recruiting candidates to challenge Republican incumbents in a number of offices. Most recently Hoffman tweeted his full endorsement for Mark Lamb in the congressional primary in Arizona’s fifth district, bragging that he had spent months talking to Lamb about running in that race.
🚨 Proud to be the first person to officially endorse Mark Lamb for Congress in AZ-CD5!
I've spent months talking with Mark about running.
I'm grateful God has called him to the fight for liberty in Congress.
Mark will win.
It's time for conservatives to rally behind Mark 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/kS0bVAQN1C
— Jake Hoffman (@JakeHoffmanAZ) October 22, 2025
“Everything Hoffman and Bowyer do in this situation is because they hate Gina,” observed one Republican State Committeeman, adding that “they don’t really care if they look like hypocrites for accusing her of doing things that they publicly brag about doing. But that doesn’t mean that the issue isn’t a legitimate one and something that the Party should clear up, so there is a standard of behavior expected of our RNC members.”
“Hoffman’s defense may be that he’s running a political consulting company and he’s just trying to make a living by recruiting candidates and getting involved in their campaigns in some way,” said one East Valley activist who has been watching the situation play out, “but you still have to marvel at the cojones it takes to demand someone resign just because you accuse them of doing the very thing you brag about doing.”
National Committeewoman Liz Harris is also active on the endorsement front, although she seems far quieter on whether or not such endorsements are proper or not.
A change to party bylaws could be discussed or proposed at the next annual state GOP meeting, traditionally held in January. Until then, Republicans should expect to see more endorsements coming from high-profile members of their party, even if it is often the same members who claim such endorsements are cause for dismissal.
Be the first to comment