'Republican' candidate for Arizona lieutenant governor is liberal on all things that matter to Catholics

Republican-turned-independent John Giles, Gov. Katie Hobbs' pick for Arizona's first ever lieutenant governor, has said he agrees with the Democratic governor on abortion, school vouchers and transgender student athletes — three issues central to the Arizona Catholic Conference's public policy agenda.

Giles, who led Mesa, Ariz. as a Republican mayor from 2014 to 2025, changed his voter registration to "no party preference" on May 17, according to Maricopa County voting records. Hobbs, who is running for re-election as governor in November, announced Giles as her running mate Aug. 11 for Arizona's newly created lieutenant governor post, which voters established through a 2022 ballot measure. 

Giles has described himself as "pro-life," but he voted for Proposition 139, the 2024 constitutional amendment that established a right to abortion in Arizona up to fetal viability. The Arizona Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's bishops, opposed the measure, warning it "threatens to enshrine a constitutional right to virtually unrestricted abortion in Arizona." Asked by ABC15 whether his two positions were in conflict, Giles said Saturday, "If I'm ever in a position to defend 139 and the new state Constitution protections for that, I will do so," calling it his "personal point of view." Hobbs said support for "reproductive freedom is absolutely, 100% a non-negotiable for me."

On education, Hobbs has repeatedly clashed with the Republican Legislature over Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account program, the state's universal school voucher system. Giles said the program "100%" needs the guardrails Hobbs supports, since "for there to be true, meaningful school choice, the public option has to be a strong one." While Giles didn't offer specifics on guardrails for the ESA program, he did endorse the idea. In her 2027 budget, Gov. Hobbs proposed establishing a $250,000 household income cap for universal ESA eligibility, an estimated $89.3 million in savings, and banning the purchase of luxury items such as driving lessons, diamond rings and lingerie through the program — reforms at odds with many school-choice advocates, including Catholic parents who use ESA funds toward tuition at Catholic schools.

Hobbs has also vetoed a series of bills that would have restricted transgender students' access to school bathrooms and locker rooms matching their gender identity. Unable to get such a measure past her veto, Republican lawmakers referred the policy directly to voters this fall as Proposition 318, which would bar biological males from competing on female sports teams. Giles dismissed the issue: "I don't believe in discrimination, and so that issue is really a red herring more often than not," he said.

Andy Biggs, the Republican congressman challenging Hobbs for governor, cast the pick as proof of her politics. "I think he fits right there with the pro-Kamala Harris, pro-Gavin Newsom Democrats," Biggs told ABC15. Giles, who endorsed Harris for president in 2024, said he stayed loyal to the GOP for years out of "admiration for people like John McCain" and a belief in limited government. "I feel like the party left me, not the other way around," he said.