Katie Hobbs

Hobbs earned her bachelor's degree in social work from Northern Arizona University and a master's degree in social work from Arizona State University. Hobbs has been a social worker since 1992, working on issues such as domestic violence, behavioral health, and homelessness.

Hobbs is affiliated with the National Association of Social Workers and is an adjunct faculty member at Paradise Valley Community College. Hobbs has a husband, Pat, and two children.[1] She is Catholic.[2][3]

Hobbs was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010 and was then elected to the Arizona Senate in 2012. Hobbs credits her interest in politics to Emerge Arizona, saying she reluctantly applied to the Emerge Arizona and by the end was ready to run for office.[4] In the Senate, she served as minority leader.[1] Hobbs was inspired to run for office by the people she assisted as a social worker believing they were not being heard by the government. She advocates ending domestic violence.[5]

On March 8, 2017, Hobbs announced she would run for Arizona Secretary of State.[6] In the 2018 elections, she ran against local businessman Steve Gaynor in the contest. On November 6, 2018, the Associated Press prematurely called the race on election night for Gaynor,[7] despite 600,000 ballots left to count statewide.[8] With the race as close as it was, neither Hobbs nor Gaynor initially claimed victory.[9][10] In the days to come, Gaynor's lead narrowed as more and more ballots were counted. On November 16, 2018, Hobbs was officially declared as the winner by a margin of 20,000 votes.[11][12] She is the first Democrat to hold the post since 1995.

Media related to Katie Hobbs at Wikimedia Commons

• Government website
• Campaign website

• Profile at Vote Smart
• Appearances on C-SPAN