Two members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are on opposite tickets in Arizona’s closely watched governor’s race, and Mormon women are reaching sharply different conclusions about what their faith asks of them at the ballot box.
Republican gubernatorial nominee Rep. Andy Biggs, an ultra-conservative ally of President Donald Trump, is running to unseat Gov. Katie Hobbs, who picked former Mesa Mayor John Giles, a church member and a Republican-turned-independent, as her running mate.
Some Republican and independent Mormon women told ABC News that Giles’ presence on the ballot and Biggs’ vote against certifying the 2020 election have pushed them toward Hobbs. Others say their views on parental rights and transgender issues draw them to Biggs.
About 442,000 Latter-day Saints live in Arizona, per the church’s 2025 count. That’s roughly 6% of the state’s population. The split could matter in a state Hobbs won by just about 17,000 votes in 2022.
“Some of these races are close, you know, 5,000 votes, 10,000 votes. That’s well within the margin that [John] Giles adds to the ticket,” said Tyler Montague, a Republican strategist.
“We’re a huge group, and I definitely think it would be smart to be courting Mormon voters, Mormon women, because we are high propensity turnout voters,” said Ronna McDaniel, former Republican National Committee chair and a church member.
“So go the Mormon wives, go the state, really,” said Stacey Pearson, a Democratic strategist in Arizona.
Biggs has defended his record of election denialism as raising legitimate questions about election administration.
“You have a lot of people that are character voters, and they view Biggs’ participation in the attempts to overthrow the election as a severe lack of character,” Montague said.
Montague also argued abortion, long the issue binding religious conservatives to Republican candidates, may have less influence this year after Arizona voters approved a ballot measure protecting abortion access in 2024. “It’s not as salient an issue,” he said.
Jane Andersen, Arizona state director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, said principle and conduct can outweigh loyalty to a party. The group does not endorse candidates, and its membership is roughly 40% Republican, 34% Democratic and 26% independent nationally.
“When we’ve had statewide candidates on the Republican side that have been such outliers, and … their approach to politicking has been so harsh, so negative, so out of line with how the women conduct themselves in daily life, they’ve chosen to walk away from that person,” Andersen said, “even if maybe the policies might seem like they align more.”
Suzanne Lunt, a 60-year-old teacher in Gilbert, left the party after the Jan. 6 insurrection, briefly re-registered as a Republican to run for the Arizona House, lost, then returned to independent. She is voting for Hobbs and Giles.
“Our church leaders have taught us that we should try to vote for people with integrity,” Lunt said. “I try to find leaders who I know I can trust, who follow the rule of law, and who are ready to work with all kinds of people and not just toe the party line.”
Sylvia Jencks, 51, an independent from conservative San Tan Valley, is also voting for Hobbs.
“I want somebody who cares about Arizona and not just what the president wants,” Jencks said. But she faulted Democrats, too, saying the party is “focusing on the wrong things” instead of strengthening the state’s economy.
Tatiana Pena, 43, a South Phoenix mother of five and lifelong Republican, is voting for Biggs because of what church leaders have taught about protecting “family values.”
“They don’t talk politics, but they have given us warnings,” Pena said. “One of the biggest warnings is to defend the family unit in society. That to me outweighs everything else.”
For her, that means restricting transgender women’s access to women’s restrooms and girls’ sports, and opposing gender-transition care for minors.
Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA’s chief operating officer and a church member from Mesa, agreed, arguing that Mormon women are “most moved by the trans policies that have been pushed by the left.”
For Brittany Romanello, a University of Arkansas professor who studies Mormon political behavior, the divide shows shared faith no longer guarantees a vote.
“Women are looking at the values, the controversies, the morals …This is not the 2012 election, where people just expected people to vote for Mitt Romney because he’s LDS,” she said.
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