IN FOCUS - Feb. 6, 2026

The Secretary of State’s race may soon get more crowded. 

This week, former Arizona GOP Chairwoman Gina Swoboda said she’s considering dropping out of the race for CD-1 and running for Secretary of State instead. That would pit her against state Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale), a Freedom Caucus favorite. The GOP nominee, of course, would face Democratic Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in November.

Swoboda’s congressional campaign has faced headwinds from the start. Though she boasts President Trump’s endorsement, she has only raised $200,000 so far in what is sure to be a multimillion-dollar contest. The President’s later endorsement of former Arizona Cardinals kicker Jay Feely adds further impetus for Swoboda to consider an exit strategy.

Swoboda is an elections policy expert for whom the Secretary of State’s Office could be a more natural fit. She also would provide GOP primary voters an alternative to Rep. Kolodin, whose lawsuits challenging the 2020 election are likely liabilities in a General Election matchup against Secretary Fontes.

On the CD-1 side, Swoboda’s exit would leave the Republican nomination between Feely and state Rep. Joseph Chaplik (R-Scottsdale) as the options from keeping the seat from flipping to the Democrats. Losing CD-1 is the last thing congressional Republicans need, facing a challenging electoral environment and odds growing that Democrats will retake the House in November.