Trump endorses Robson in 2026 Arizona gubernatorial race

President-elect Donald Trump addressed convention attendees at Turning Point USA’s “AmericaFest” in Phoenix on Sunday morning, endorsing two high-profile Republicans for upcoming openings.

Trump announced that Karrin Taylor Robson would have his support if she opted to run in the gubernatorial race in 2026 in the Republican primary. Whoever wins the primary will likely take on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs in the general election.

”You have a governor who doesn’t know what the hell she’s doing,” he said of Hobbs.

Robson sought the governor’s office in 2022, losing the primary to Kari Lake, who lost the general election. Lake ran again for U.S. Senate in 2024 but lost to Congressman Ruben Gallego. Lake is now Trump’s hopeful to run Voice of America, an international news organization backed by the United States government.

Lake and Trump have remained close allies, as the president-elect backed her bid over Robson’s in the 2022 primary.

Robson endorsed both Trump and Lake in the 2024 general election, as well as operating a political action committee with the goal of expanding the state legislature’s Republican majorities.

In addition, Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda will also have Trump's support in her bid to retain the position following Republican gains across the board in the state this November.

“We’re going to be backing Gina to run again,” he said.

“If you do you have my endorsement, so that should be good,” the Republican continued.

The incoming Republican president focused a large portion of his address on immigration and border security, which is one of the top issues in the Grand Canyon State during the election.

“I will immediately designate the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,” he said, outlining other plans, including executive orders, to tackle the border crisis.

Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in the race for the state’s 11 electoral votes by 5.5%, which was over 187,000 votes.