Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs is finally being forced to answer questions she’s long tried to dodge—and the answers aren’t inspiring confidence.
In a revealing live television interview, Hobbs admitted that she is currently under investigation over a potential pay-for-play scheme involving a massive funding boost for a politically connected child care provider. The admission is particularly striking given that Hobbs eked out a razor-thin victory over Republican Kari Lake in 2022 and has since governed as if she were handed a sweeping mandate.
The investigation, launched in 2024 by Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes—herself a Democrat—centers on Sunshine Residential Homes Inc., a company contracted by the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS). Under Hobbs’ administration, Sunshine received a jaw-dropping 60 percent increase in the daily rate it is paid per child. Other providers, by contrast, were denied similar pay increases.
That alone would raise eyebrows. But the political money trail raises far more serious questions.
Between 2022 and 2023, Sunshine Residential Homes donated approximately $400,000 to Hobbs and the Arizona Democratic Party. Before that, the company had no meaningful history of political giving. Sunshine CEO Simon Kottoor even served on Hobbs’ inaugural committee, and Hobbs publicly praised the company while campaigning.
In plain English, a state contractor with close personal and financial ties to the governor received a massive funding windfall—while competitors were left out in the cold.
The alarm was loud enough that GOP State Sen. T.J. Shope formally requested an investigation, citing concerns about a “pay for play” arrangement. In June 2024, Attorney General Mayes’ office confirmed it was opening a criminal investigation, writing that the Criminal Division was “statutorily authorized to investigate the allegations and offenses outlined” in Shope’s request.
Despite Hobbs’ insistence that this is all politics, the facts tell a different story.
The controversy escalated further in November 2025 when Arizona’s Republican-controlled legislature launched its own probe. House Speaker Steve Montenegro assembled an advisory team of GOP lawmakers to dig into the matter, signaling that lawmakers were no longer willing to accept the governor’s dismissive talking points.
During an interview with KPNX, Hobbs was pressed directly about the investigations. Asked whether any of Attorney General Mayes’ investigators had spoken with her personally, Hobbs said no. But when asked if her staff had been questioned, she conceded, “Yes, they have. So that investigation is ongoing.”
That acknowledgment undercuts her repeated attempts to wave off the probes as meaningless.
Previously, Hobbs labeled the House investigation a “shameless stunt” by “extremist legislators,” a familiar tactic from Democrats facing uncomfortable scrutiny. At the same time, reports have warned that the funding arrangement could mean “potentially millions of dollars more going to the company at taxpayers’ expense.”
Sen. Shope, for his part, says he wants answers—not spin. “I hope that they will do a fine job and actually go through fairly, through the entire process, and completely thoroughly as well,” he said.
Republicans have also called on Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell to open a separate investigation, arguing that the seriousness of the allegations demands full transparency.
For Arizona taxpayers—and especially for vulnerable children supposedly being served by these programs—the stakes couldn’t be higher. Whether Gov. Hobbs was merely careless or something far worse is now for investigators to decide. What’s clear is that this scandal isn’t going away, no matter how loudly the governor dismisses it.
