Karrin Taylor Robson | |
|---|---|
 Robson in 2024 | |
| Member of theArizona Board of Regents | |
| In office July 2017 – July 2021 | |
| Appointed by | Doug Ducey |
| Preceded by | Greg Patterson |
| Succeeded by | Bob Herbold Jessica Pacheco |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Karrin Margaret Kunasek (1964-07-28)July 28, 1964 (age 60)[1] Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Gene Taylor (divorced) |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | Carl Kunasek (father) Andy Kunasek (brother) |
| Education | Arizona State University, Tempe (BA,JD) |
Karrin Margaret Taylor Robson (/ˈroʊbsən/ROBE-sən, néeKunasek, born July 28, 1964)[2][3] is an American attorney, land use consultant and politician. A member of theRepublican Party, she was a member of theArizona Board of Regents from 2017 until 2021, being appointed to office byGovernorDoug Ducey.
Taylor Robson ran in the Republican primary in the2022 Arizona gubernatorial election but finished second toDonald Trump-backedKari Lake.
On February 12, 2025, she announced her run for Governor again for the2026 Arizona gubernatorial election, and was subsequently endorsed by PresidentDonald Trump
Born Karrin Margaret Kunasek, she was raised inMesa, Arizona.[4][5][6] The Kunasek family is prominent in Arizona Republican politics.[7] Her father,Carl Kunasek, was president of theArizona State Senate and a member of theArizona Corporation Commission.[7] Her mother was Kathryn Frances Kunasek (née Ryan) (1935–2020).[8] Her brother,Andy, was a member of theMaricopa County Board of Supervisors from 1997 to 2017.[7]
Taylor Robson earned herBachelor of Arts in history and political science fromArizona State University (ASU) in 1988.[9] After graduating college, Taylor Robson was a staff assistant for PresidentRonald Reagan's economic policy council, and a staff assistant for the Office of Cabinet Affairs in the administration ofGeorge H. W. Bush.[10] Taylor Robson left the White House in order to attend law school.[10] She earned aJuris Doctor from ASU'sSandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 1994.[9]
Taylor Robson was executive vice president of Scottsdale, Arizona-based DMB Associates, a real estate developer.[7][11] She left DMB in early 2016.[7] Taylor Robson was also a principal with the law firm of Biskind, Hunt & Taylor, P.L.C., focusing onreal estate law,zoning, and land use.[7] Robson founded Arizona Strategies, a land-use consulting company,[11] and was a state lobbyist for DMB.[7] Taylor Robson described land use law in 2020 as "really 60% politics and 40% law."[9]
In 2005, Taylor Robson was appointed to theAir Force Chief of Staff's Civic Leader program, where she served as an unpaid advisor and liaison between Air Force leadership and the civilian community surroundingLuke Air Force Base.[12]
Upon the death of longtime Arizona United States SenatorJohn McCain in 2018, Taylor Robson was mentioned as a possible appointee to serve the remainder of McCain's term.[13] GovernorDoug Ducey ultimately appointedMartha McSally to fill the vacancy.[14]
Ducey appointed Taylor Robson to theArizona Board of Regents in June 2017[15][11] and reappointed her to a full eight-year term in 2020.[15][16] She resigned from the Board in July 2021 to focus on her campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.[15]
Taylor Robson was inducted into theArizona Women's Hall of Fame in 2020.[17]
In 2019, Taylor Robson publicly considered a potential 2022 candidacy for governor of Arizona.[7] She formally announced her candidacy for the Republican nomination in May 2021. (Ducey, the incumbent, could not run again due toterm limits.) She described herself as a "lifelong conservative Republican" and stated her opposition to the policies of theBiden administration.[18] Her candidacy was endorsed by former Arizona governorsFife Symington andJan Brewer,[19] Ducey, the outgoing governor;[20] Arizona Senate presidentKaren Fann; andAmericans for Prosperity.[21] Taylor Robson was also endorsed by former Arizona Republican congressmanMatt Salmon, who ran for the gubernatorial nomination but withdrew from the race in late June 2022,[22] and byMike Pence, the formervice president underDonald Trump.[23] By contrast, Trump endorsedKari Lake, Taylor Robson's chief rival,[24] and Trump allies.[25] In 2021, Taylor Robson's campaign raised $3.7 million, of which about half was contributed by Taylor Robson.[26]
During her campaign for the Republican primary nomination, Taylor Robson refused to say whether, if she had been governor, she would have certified the results of the2020 presidential election in Arizona, in whichJoe Biden defeatedDonald Trump.[27][28] Shequestioned the legitimacy of the election,[28] asserting that "the elections weren't fair"[27] and that "our election was absolutely not fair."[28] She accused "liberal judges" of "changing the rules late in the game."[29]
During her campaign, Taylor Robson said that she would enforce Arizona's pre-Roe abortion ban, which would criminalize the action in most circumstances.[21]2024 Arizona Proposition 139, a constitutional amendment that was approved by voters on November 5, 2024, established a right toabortion in Arizona in theConstitution of Arizona until fetal viability.[30]
On February 12, 2025, Robson announced her intent to run for governor in 2026.
Taylor Robson lives in Phoenix'sBiltmore Area.[31] She is married to Ed Robson, a real estate developer[32] who is the founder and president of Robson Communities.[7] Robson has holdings in Arizona and Texas; he is the namesake of Ed Robson Arena, a hockey stadium at his alma mater Colorado College.[33]