Katie Hobbs

Kathleen Marie Hobbs, known as Katie Hobbs, was born on December 28, 1969. She is an American politician who became the 24th governor of Arizona in 2023. She belongs to the Democratic Party.

Before becoming governor, Hobbs served as Arizona's Secretary of State from 2019 to 2023. She also worked in the Arizona Legislature from 2011 to 2019. She studied social work at Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University.

Hobbs was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010 and then to the Arizona Senate in 2012. In 2018, she became Arizona's Secretary of State. In 2022, she was elected governor, winning closely against a candidate named Kari Lake.

Since starting her work as governor, Hobbs used her power to stop many new laws. She vetoed over 100 bills in just five months. Some of these bills were about state immigration rules, housing plans, and other important policies.

Early life, education, and career

Katie Hobbs was born on December 28, 1969, in Phoenix, Arizona. She grew up in Tempe, a nearby area of Phoenix, with her twin sister, Becky. Her family sometimes needed help to buy food.

She went to Catholic schools and finished high school at Seton Catholic High School in 1988. Later, she studied at Northern Arizona University and got a degree in helping people in 1992. She then went to Arizona State University and earned another degree in 1995. After that, she helped people as a social worker.

Katie also worked to support people at risk at the Sojourner Center and taught at Paradise Valley Community College and Arizona State University. She is part of a group called the National Association of Social Workers.

Early political career

Before becoming an elected official, Katie Hobbs took part in leadership programs at groups like Valley Leadership, Emerge Arizona, and the Center for Progressive Leadership. She was a delegate for Hillary Clinton at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

She worked on committees in Phoenix and was the executive director of Emerge Arizona from 2013 to 2019. Her work with Emerge Arizona sparked her interest in politics.

Katie Hobbs was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010, representing the 15th legislative district with another lawmaker, Lela Alston. She served one term there and then ran for the state senate in 2012.

She won a seat in the Arizona Senate in 2012 and was reelected in 2014 and 2016, representing the 24th legislative district. She became the minority leader in 2015 and held that role for two terms. She decided not to run for another term and instead sought the position of Secretary of State, with Alston taking over her seat.

Secretary of State of Arizona

2018 election

See also: 2018 Arizona Secretary of State election

In 2017, Katie Hobbs said she wanted to become Arizona's Secretary of State. She ran in the 2018 election against a person named Steve Gaynor. The results were very close, and it took several days to know who won. Finally, on November 16, it was announced that Hobbs won by about 20,000 votes. This was important because she was the first person from her party to hold this job since 1995.

Tenure as secretary of state

Hobbs started her job as Secretary of State on January 7, 2019. Because Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, she was next in line to become governor if needed.

2020 Arizona election audit

Main article: 2021 Maricopa County presidential ballot audit

In 2021, some leaders in Arizona wanted to check the results of the 2020 presidential election again. Hobbs said this check was not done properly and was not a real audit. Because of her comments, she and her team needed extra protection for safety.

The group doing the check was not experienced in election audits and had supported claims that the election was not fair. Their final report in September 2021 said there was no proof of problems, and in fact, it showed the winner had actually received more votes than before.

Governor of Arizona

2022 election

Main article: 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election

On June 2, 2021, Hobbs announced that she would run to be the next governor of Arizona in the 2022 election. She ran against two other Democrats and won the nomination with most of the votes. In the final election, she faced a Republican opponent and won by a small margin.

Tenure

Hobbs became governor on January 2, 2023. She was the fifth woman to hold this position in Arizona. Since becoming governor, she has made many changes, including creating new groups to help with important issues like housing and voting.

Abortion

Main article: Abortion in Arizona

In May 2024, Hobbs signed a law to remove an old ban on a certain medical choice that had been brought back by the state’s highest court. This change allowed medical choices up to a certain point in pregnancy.

Capital punishment

Hobbs does not support certain ways of punishing people who break serious laws. When she became governor, she stopped some of these actions for a time while a review was done. Later, some of these actions continued again.

Foreign relations

In May 2023, a government far away added Hobbs to a list of people not allowed to visit because of decisions made by the United States.

Immigration

In her first speech as governor, Hobbs talked about helping students who came from other countries. She also suggested ways to help people coming to Arizona from places near the southern border.

In 2025, Hobbs decided not to support a plan that would make Arizona take on more work related to checking people who come into the country.

Housing

In March 2024, Hobbs decided not to support a plan that would make it easier to build more homes in Arizona. She thought the plan might not work well.

Medical debt forgiveness

In March 2024, Hobbs announced a plan to help Arizonans by using money from a national program to remove medical debts.

Veto record

In April 2023, Hobbs set a new record for the number of bills she decided not to support as governor in just one year. Many of these bills had been approved by both sides of the government, but she still chose not to support them.

Personal life

Katie Hobbs is married to Patrick Goodman. They met at church in 1992 and got married in 1996. Patrick works as a child therapist at Phoenix Children's Hospital. They have two children and live in Phoenix.

Katie Hobbs is a Catholic. She enjoys sports and is a triathlete. She has loved cycling since she was in high school.