PHOENIX – Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have long been staunch Republicans, but this year’s Arizona governor’s race highlights a minority group of churchgoers who don’t feel aligned with the direction their party is going.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, selected John Giles as her running mate in the state’s first ever ticket for governor and lieutenant governor.
A lifelong Republican, Giles is a Latter-day Saints member and former mayor of Mesa. In May he changed his affiliation to “no party preference,” and is running as an independent. The pair is running against U.S. Congressman Andy Biggs of the 5th Congressional District, who is also a member of the Mormon church, a Republican and a Trump ally, and his lieutenant governor candidate Sine Kerr is a former Arizona state senator and a Republican.
