Hobbs vows to raise $500K to defeat GOP lawmakers in 2024

PHOENIX — Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs fired the first financial salvo at legislative Republicans Tuesday, promising to raise $500,000 to unseat them in 2024.

That doesn’t count another $1.5 million or so she has left over from businesses that contributed to her inaugural festivities, money that can also be used in her attempt to oust GOP lawmakers.

In a news release, Hobbs, who has been in the office less than two months, accounted for what her campaign aides called an “unprecedented investment so early in the election cycle’’ with the goal of ending the one-vote majority that Republicans have in the House and the Senate.

The governor’s chief political strategist, Nicole DeMont, said this should come as no surprise.

She said the results of the last election show Arizona voters want the governor and lawmakers to work together to solve “our state’s toughest challenges like lowering costs, addressing our water crisis, and fully funding education.’’

“But Republicans in the Legislature have already shown they have no interest in bipartisan cooperation and aren’t serious about solving problems,’’ DeMont said in her written statement. “We intend to hold these extremist legislators accountable for being uncompromising obstructionists, and we’re confident their constituents will agree.’’

What DeMont did not say is that the 2022 election may not have been the mandate the new governor contends she has: Hobbs won the race over Republican challenger Kari Lake by just 17,117 votes out of more than 2.55 million votes cast.

And the 2022 election resulted in no net change in the Legislature, with the House remaining 31-29 Republican and the Senate holding a 16-14 GOP edge.

Reacting Tuesday to Hobbs’ announcement of the planned expenditure, the Arizona Republican Legislative Victory Fund, which raises outside dollars to maintain the GOP majority, tweeted it “will be ready to defeat Democrats at the ballot box in 2024 just like we’ve done the past two election cycles.’’

Arizona law contains various exceptions to campaign finance limits for special funds that spend money on their own to advocate for the approval or defeat of candidates, versus giving the money directly to those on the ballot. Such funds are not unusual, and former Gov. Doug Ducey ran a similar operation to help secure the election of Republicans when he was governor.

Controversy over left-over inaugural funds

Joe Wolf, another of Hobbs’ political operatives, said the $500,000 commitment is separate from more than $1.3 million Hobbs has pocketed for political purposes from profits from the inaugural celebration organized by the new governor’s political committee.

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Those funds were put into what the Internal Revenue Service calls a “social welfare’’ organization. After paying the more than $200,000 in actual costs of the event, the balance can be used for political purposes.

Hobbs has so far ignored a request by House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Peoria, and Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, to put the excess into the state’s Protocol Fund.

Under state law, money in the Protocol Fund can be used for “promoting the interests of the state or to promote and encourage citizen public service to this state.’’ Governors also have used such cash for other purposes, ranging from new office carpeting to gifts for foreign dignitaries.

Most significant, any expenditures from the fund must be disclosed in an annual public report.

Hobbs said she has provided some information about the source of the funds in response to a request for information from Rep. David Livingston, R-Peoria. She pointed out that the people she has running that social welfare organization finally disclosed a list of contributors.

But Livingston remains unsatisfied and continues to demand more.

There also is the possibility the entire account could end up being subject to litigation.

In their letter to the governor, Toma and Petersen noted there was a link on the governor’s state-run webpage where people were given a number they could call if they wanted to become paying sponsors for her inauguration.

“It would be inappropriate to utilize any monies in the Inaugural Fund to influence an election,’’ the two GOP leaders said, citing state statutes that prohibit the use of public resources to affect the outcome of any election.

There is no evidence that members of the governor’s inaugural committee made specific promises to donors of how any leftover funds would be used. But the largest contributor, Arizona Public Service, said in a statement it clearly had an idea that its $250,000 would go specifically to the event.