Arizona GOP gubernatorial nominee Andy Biggs selects Sine Kerr as running mate
Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Andy Biggs announced July 31 that former state lawmaker Sine Kerr will be his pick for lieutenant governor, completing his statewide ticket for the 2026 election.
The announcement puts Kerr forward for an office that Arizona voters created in 2022. The 2026 race is the first Arizona gubernatorial election in which candidates are required to nominate a running mate for lieutenant governor.
Biggs’ selection is a campaign decision, not an election result. Kerr is his announced pick for the newly established office; the ticket has not been established by the available information as elected or certified.
A first election for Arizona’s new office
The lieutenant-governor position will appear alongside the governor’s race for the first time in 2026 under the voter-approved constitutional change. Voters will therefore be asked to consider a gubernatorial ticket that includes a candidate for governor and a candidate for lieutenant governor.
By choosing Kerr, Biggs has identified the person he wants to serve with him if their ticket prevails in the general election. Kerr previously served as an Arizona state lawmaker, according to reporting on the announcement.
The selection also gives voters an early view of one of the candidates seeking the state’s new lieutenant-governor office. It completes a major part of the Republican statewide ticket before the November general election.
Where the election stands
Arizona’s official election calendar lists July 21, 2026, as the date of the state primary. Biggs announced Kerr 10 days later, on July 31.
The next listed statewide election-administration step is the official statewide canvass, scheduled for Aug. 6, 2026. The canvass applies to the July 21 primary.
That schedule matters because the available source material does not provide official certified primary results. It also does not identify a Democratic lieutenant-governor ticket.
The official election process remains important to the status of the Republican ticket. The available information does not support treating either Biggs or Kerr as having won the general election, or treating Kerr as the elected lieutenant governor.
The general-election matchup
Biggs and Kerr are expected to compete in the November general election against the Democratic nominee and incumbent Gov. Katie Hobbs, subject to Arizona’s election process.
The announcement does not change the fact that voters will decide the contest. Rather, it identifies the Republican nominee’s choice for the second position on a ticket that will be used in Arizona’s first gubernatorial election requiring a lieutenant-governor running mate.
For Arizona voters, the contest will be the first opportunity to choose candidates for the new office as part of a statewide gubernatorial election. For Biggs’ campaign, the July 31 announcement formally names the running mate it intends to present in that race.
The scheduled Aug. 6 statewide canvass is the next known date on Arizona’s election calendar. The source material does not provide a specific date for the November general election or certified results from the July primary.
Sources
- Andy Biggs taps Sine Kerr as his pick for lieutenant governor, Axios
- 2026 Election Information, Arizona Secretary of State