GOP Digest — July 22, 2026 | Trump-Backed Biggs Wins Arizona Governor Primary as House Passes Funding Patch

Andy Biggs wins Arizona governor nomination in a rout:

The former House Freedom Caucus chairman, backed by President Trump, led the four-way GOP field with 73 percent of the vote with 75 percent counted, per AP tallies cited by Roll Call — his nearest rival, Rep. David Schweikert, trailed at 15 percent. Biggs now takes on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Jay Feely claims the GOP nod in battleground AZ-01:

The retired NFL kicker, who pivoted into the race with Trump's encouragement, defeated former state Rep. Joseph Chaplik with just under 50 percent of the vote to Chaplik's 35 percent with 76 percent counted, with tech executive John Trobough at 15 percent. The Phoenix-area seat being vacated by Schweikert is rated a Toss-up by Inside Elections and is central to Democrats' hopes of flipping the House.

Democrats' AZ-01 primary still uncalled amid party infighting:

As of early Wednesday, the AP had not called the Democratic primary, with former state Rep. Amish Shah leading DCCC-backed Marlene Galán-Woods with 77 percent of the vote in. The DCCC's decision to pick sides — and spend big — in the primary drew criticism from Shah and fellow Arizona Democrats including Rep. Adelita Grijalva, exposing a rift the eventual nominee must repair before November.

House passes shutdown-averting funding patch, 220-205:

The continuing resolution, which extends government funding through December 4, cleared the House Tuesday night with Kentucky's Thomas Massie the lone Republican no vote and six Democrats crossing the aisle to support it. Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic leadership announced their opposition, calling it "premature" — while Republicans acted months ahead of the deadline to take a fall shutdown off the table.

John Thune readies Senate rewrite with a reconciliation backstop:

The Senate Majority Leader said he intends to bring a stopgap to the floor "before the August break" and warned that if bipartisan talks collapse, Republicans could use the House budget resolution — which lays groundwork for up to $95 billion in reconciliation spending on defense, farm aid and SAVE America Act-style voting provisions — to fund the government. Sen. Mike Rounds said the Senate hopes to modify the House bill to attract Democratic votes.

Arizona's November battlegrounds are set:

Trump-backed former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb won the GOP primary 59-41 with 75 percent counted in the deep-red AZ-05 seat Biggs is leaving behind, which Trump carried by 20 points in 2024. Matchups were already locked in two other competitive races: Rep. Juan Ciscomani faces Democrat JoAnna Mendoza in Toss-up AZ-06, and Rep. Eli Crane gets a rematch with former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in Likely Republican AZ-02.