AG Declines to Charge Swing State Governor Over Alleged Criminal Pay-to-Play Scheme

FILE – Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs gives her State of the State address in the House of Representatives at the Capitol, Jan. 12, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

State authorities chose not to file charges against Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) in an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving a group home company that gave $100,000 to her inaugural event, according to a report.

Hobbs, who is running against Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) to keep her office, was accused of giving a rate increase to Sunshine Residential Homes, which got a 30% rate increase after shelling out donations to Hobbs’ event and the Arizona Democratic Party.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mays (D) announced Friday she had declined to seek charges against Hobbs, but acknowledged the details of the controversy showed a need for reform:

After two years of investigation, consisting of multiple interviews, reviews of campaign-finance records, procurement records, bank documents, and State emails and chats, totaling over one terabyte of data, including more than 100,000 documents, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence of the necessary quid pro quo to support a bribery charge.

Declining prosecution is a conclusion about the legal standard for charging a case, but this case shows there is a need for legislative reform. The Legislature and the Governor have the power to ensure greater transparency with regard to political donations made by state contractors. I am urging them to work together and try again to pass legislation that does so.

The per-bed increase for the group home company came during the 2022-2023 contract year, according to the Associated Press.

Mays’ office said it conducted a dozen interviews and reviewed more than 100,000 documents in the case, and while it found no evidence of wrongdoing, it did conclude Sunshine was one of the state’s largest providers of such services, giving it “outsized leverage” with the state.

Hobbs, who declined to be interviewed in person by Mays’ office, has denied wrongdoing.

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