Was Katie Hobbs required to resign from her position as Secretary of State before running for governor?
By Jordan Gerard
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NO
According to state law, elected officials in Arizona need to resign before running for a different elected office unless they are in the final year of their current term.
Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is in her final year of office, so she was not required to resign before running for governor.
“Resign to run” laws are designed to ensure officeholders do not split their time between their official duties and their campaign. They also prevent elected officials from unfairly leveraging their position against other candidates. Four other states have similar laws – Florida, Georgia, Hawaii and Texas.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Arizona Legislature Limitation on filing for election by incumbent of elective office
Ballotpedia Resign-to-run law
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
