Arizona House Speaker Andy Tobin delivers GOP national address

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner announced Thursday that a congressional hopeful from Arizona would be delivering the Republican Party’s weekly national address, and Saturday morning, Andy Tobin did just that.

The current Arizona House Speaker made the address from Picacho Peak, a prominent landmark in the state’s 1st
Congressional District.

He tweeted a photo of himself Saturday at the scene of the taping.

Taping the GOP Weekly Address at Picacho Peak at sunset was a privilege. #AZ01 http://t.co/ISLCWGSmqm pic.twitter.com/UxGKou6cDz

— Andy Tobin (@Andy_Tobin) September 13, 2014

Tobin, who won a tight race in the GOP primary over Gary Kiehne, started the address by referencing the recent floods in Arizona and thanking first responders.

The Republican also said Arizona is under attack from federal government regulations.

He said overregulation of energy and “perpetrating a war on coal” is hurting
the state’s Navajo Generation Station.

He also said Obamacare should be repealed and the country needs to get out of
debt.

Tobin is the first U.S. House challenger to deliver the GOP’s address this
year. The GOP has tapped some congressional candidates for the address in recent
weeks, giving them national exposure near election time.

Tobin will face a tough challenge in the November general election against 1st Congressional District incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick has strong support from the tribal communities, but CD1 is a classic swing district that could go to either party. That’s especially true if a Libertarian write-in candidate fails to qualify. Libertarians drew 6 and 7 percent of the vote in the last two general elections in the district.

Republicans believe they’ll get most of those votes in a race that lacks a Libertarian.

The CD1 Republican primary was not called until Sept. 2, a week after voting took place. Tobin emerged with 36 percent of the vote to Kiehne’s 35 percent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.