Mesa Mayor John Giles didn't stop at bashing Trump and endorsing Harris. What he's said
Mesa's Mayor John Giles splashed onto the national political scene this week after he crossed party lines and urged Arizona Republicans to vote against former President Donald Trump and support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
His pitch started with a guest column in The Arizona Republic and a follow-up interview the same day. Giles didn't stop there, and he's making waves. He has since made the rounds on national broadcasts, appearing on NPR, PBS News Hour and MSNBC.
Giles is a registered Republican but holds a nonpartisan office and has never been elected as a Republican. Nonetheless, he’s the most prominent Republican still in office in Arizona to publicly endorse Harris.
Giles' announcement brought on waves of support nationally, while locally, many criticized him.
Giles is term-limited and will finish his time as Mesa mayor in January, with a legacy of stability, credited with bringing high-tech jobs and education opportunities to the city and revitalizing downtown. The outgoing mayor remains popular, and his opinion carries weight locally.
He is wrapping up 10 years of continuous service as mayor of Arizona's third most populous city. On Tuesday, voters there sent two mayoral candidates to a runoff in the fall, and both will continue Giles' agenda.
His next steps are not clear. He told NRP Friday it was never his intention to become a career politician and was only ever interested in his hometown mayor.
In interviews with the Arizona Republic, he has remained tight-lipped on what he plans to pursue next but has hinted he has more to give. After his term, he’ll continue in his role as a committee member of the national Electric Vehicle Working Group with the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation that makes policy recommendations on the automotive and EV industry.
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Why does Giles' endorsement of Harris matter?
Giles presides over the 36th most populous city in America. Parts of Mesa have historically sent hard-line conservatives and staunch Trump supporters such as Andy Biggs to Congress and the state Legislature. Portions of the city are a bedrock of Arizona conservatism.
Successive U.S. presidents and their surrogates have come to the East Valley to tout investments in technology and education.
On the national stage, Mesa increasingly matters. Only four U.S. cities governed by Republican mayors are bigger than Mesa, and none is in a state competitive in presidential elections. They are Dallas, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and Fresno, California. All are in reliably red or blue states.
But not Giles. Arizona has been a key battleground state in recent presidential elections.
What did Giles say on national broadcasts?
Giles told news anchors he’d prefer to be handing out his endorsements to Republican candidates, but he put thought into his support for Harris.
He revealed to NPR he voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 but said it was more out of fear of what a second term for Trump would mean.
He told PBS News Hour he would have likely endorsed Biden had he stayed the Democratic presidential nominee, but with Harris at the top of the ticket, he has a genuine excitement.
Arizona is back in play “where I’m not sure it was before,” Giles said.
In interviews, Giles said Harris could win Arizona. “I think she needs to remind people like me... how chaotic four years of Donald Trump was. We truly were referring to it as a national nightmare.”
Biden narrowly won Arizona in 2020.
On MSNBC, Giles said this year is not one in which voters “can follow tradition or misplaced loyalty and vote for a Republican at the top of the ticket.”
“Donald Trump has demonstrated he lacks the character, lacks the commitment to the rule of law, to the United States Constitution to qualify as an elected official, let alone as president of the United States,” Giles said.
In interviews, he said the Biden-Harris administration did more for cities than the Trump administration, pointing to the CHIPS and Science Act that he said has helped bring private investment into the state and to Mesa.
Giles serves as the chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors task force on immigration reform.
“Immigration is not an issue in Arizona. It is the issue,” he said on NPR’s Here and Now. He said the current administration should be held accountable for not doing more, but ultimately Giles laid the blame on Trump for killing bipartisan immigration reform.
He also criticized the Biden-Harris administration for not doing a better job on the economy.
How did Giles justify his endorsement of Harris?
Giles echoed Sen. John McCain’s “Country First” motto as he called on other Arizona Republicans to join him in defeating Trump.
It will take Republicans, Democrats and independent voters to stand "together against a far-right agenda" and beat Trump, Giles wrote, saying the former president "poses a threat" to the nation.
“That’s why I’m standing with her. Kamala Harris is the competent, just and fair leader our country deserves. This year too much is at stake to vote Republican at the top of the ticket,” he wrote.
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What did Giles say about Arizona's Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly?
With Kelly's name being widely floated as a leading contender to be Harris' pick for running mate, Giles lauded Kelly's qualifications in his CNN interview.
“He’s a real John Glenn, a 'Right Stuff' person,” said Giles about Kelly. “He’s very talented and capable. He could be secretary of defense and VP at the same time.”
In his final state of the city address, in February, Giles appeared on stage with Kelly, dressed as an astronaut, and rock legend Alice Cooper, dressed as a Star Wars villain, in a mock light-saber duel.
What did Giles say about Arizona's down-ballot races?
Giles is not what he called a “MAGA” Republican but a moderate Republican.
Weighing on other hotly contested statewide races and ballot issues, he said the trend would continue: Right-wing candidates will have successful primary races, but when it comes to the general election, they will falter.
He foresees the ballot measure on abortion will pass with ease.
In the U.S. Senate race he said on MSNBC, he anticipates Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Ruben Gallego will win comfortably against GOP nominee Kari Lake.
Lake is “so over the top that she turns people off in Arizona,” Giles said.
"I'm kinda hopeful as a moderate Republican for my party to hit bottom here in the general election."
What is the GOP saying about Giles?
Giles was censured in 2022 by local Republican legislative committees after he endorsed Kelly over Republican Blake Masters. At the time, it marked the first time he openly supported any candidate in a partisan election.
"I am an unapologetically Republican. (But) I'm going to vote for and support the best candidate regardless of party affiliation," Giles told The Republic in 2022. "I'm very comfortable with my decision. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again."
In that endorsement, he was joined by former Peoria Mayor Cathy Carlat, another Republican.
The formal condemnations carried no specific sanctions, but are designed to dissuade voters from re-electing the official and send a message that they no longer have the party's backing.
He later endorsed Gov. Katie Hobbs in the gubernatorial race and chaired the Republicans for Hobbs committee.
This year’s endorsement came as no surprise to GOP leadership.
“The mayor has been endorsing Democrats for several election cycles now. This isn’t news and it certainly doesn’t warrant any of our attention,” said Gina Swoboda, Chair of the Arizona Republican Party in a written statement to The Republic.
Instead, the party will focus on helping Trump win a second term, she said.
“We are here to win and we will spend our time advocating for policies that help working people, the middle-class, and lift all boats on a rising tide with the policies advocated by the Trump-Vance ticket,” Swoboda wrote.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mesa GOP mayor Giles goes all-in on Harris. Why that's a big deal
