Katie Hobbs' New Campaign Director Brings Social Media Firestorm Over Race Comments

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs is making headlines again, and not just for her policies. Her reelection campaign has hired Michael Beyer as communications director, a move that's raising more than a few eyebrows thanks to Beyer's rather colorful social media track record.

Beyer, who joined Hobbs' team in April for her 2026 run, has a long digital trail of calling out white people—white Republicans, white liberals, even white pop stars. From as far back as 2014, Beyer’s posts on X (formerly Twitter) have taken aim at the so-called "religious right," accusing them of being bound by "a belief in white supremacy." He’s also lobbed criticism at Bernie Sanders supporters for their "white entitlement" and even accused Taylor Swift and other white artists of "romanticizing the conquest of Africa." Say what you will, but this guy's not afraid to ruffle feathers on both sides of the aisle.

Beyer's more eyebrow-raising moments include a jab at a prominent pro-gay GOP nonprofit, where he wondered aloud if its leader wasn’t just "a bunch of twinks standing on top of each other hiding in a trench coat." Subtle? Maybe not. He’s also bemoaned the overrepresentation of "white men" in 80s media coverage of HIV and suggested that "white suburban voters" in Louisiana had effectively taken over the local news.

Governor Hobbs’ decision to bring Beyer aboard isn’t her first staffing controversy. Her previous campaign and administration have been marked by high turnover and accusations of a toxic work environment. In 2022, two-thirds of her campaign staff reportedly left in just five months, some describing the experience as "emotionally abusive." She’s also had to fire staffers for their own problematic social media posts, including a press secretary let go after a post referencing gun violence on the same day as a school shooting.

Beyer's posts haven’t all been reserved for conservatives. He’s accused Marco Rubio of pandering to "whites" and criticized Sanders’ 2016 New Hampshire win as being due to the state’s "91% white" population. Even Taylor Swift wasn’t safe, with Beyer referencing an NPR op-ed to claim she was "dreaming of a very white Africa" after the release of her "Wildest Dreams" music video.

Despite his numerous critiques of white people and accusations of racism, Beyer also once argued that "white people are very bad at identifying racism/racists." Consistency isn’t exactly his strong suit, but he certainly keeps the conversation lively.

Neither Beyer nor the Hobbs campaign responded to media requests for comment about the hire. For Hobbs, who’s seen staffers leave mid-legislative session and even had a legislative director resign just hours before the state budget dropped, this latest addition adds yet another twist to her already-dramatic staffing saga. The only constant in Hobbs’ office, it seems, is change—and maybe a little chaos.