THE FACTS

⁃ Every life is precious. In 2021, however, 15% of all pregnancies in Arizona ended in abortion, with 73% of those being elective (meaning not because of birth defects nor health of the mother). Although our laws have recently been strengthened, Arizona’s current abortion laws would have only prevented 6% of those abortions. We as a society have clearly failed our women and children. We must work toward building an Arizona where every mother in crisis is empowered through tangible and other means to choose life and success for their sons and daughters, both before and after birth.

⁃ My adoptive daughter’s first mother was told to abort because our daughter had severe disabilities and would therefore “have no quality of life.” Her mother declined. Today, Guyana is living her best life in Arizona, and we thank God every day that her mother saw her value when doctors did not.

⁃ We need to take on this issue from multiple angles if we truly wish to protect life. First and foremost, we need to understand why 73% of these abortions are elective. Next, we need to address those issues so that women do not feel pressured to stop their child’s beating heart. No one should feel that their situation is so bad that they need to end a life.

⁃ In the last three years of President Trump’s administration, the Yuma sector saw just over 100,000 encounters at the border. In President Biden’s first three years, the Yuma sector has dealt with nearly 600,000 encounters. That is six times the population of Yuma. The Biden and Hobbs administrations have invited an untenable invasion of our border communities that must cease now.

⁃ In the military, our training says that when a wound is bleeding out, the first step is to stop the flow. Our southern border is bleeding out, and we must stop the flow of illegal immigrants first and foremost.

⁃ The Biden administration has made it clear that we cannot rely on the federal government to protect our border communities. We must act now to secure our border and protect our people.

⁃ As a school choice state, Arizona is a fantastic place to educate our children. However, our children’s education is being threatened by the current administration’s attacks on ESA, as well as the legislature’s failure to properly fund our school programs.

⁃ Whether it’s underfunding our ESA program, poorly appropriating funds for our public schools or introducing woke ideologies, we need to make dramatic corrections to our education system. Arizona spends the fourth lowest amount on education as a percentage of taxpayer income -- and our student success matches. Arizona student test scores are the sixth lowest in the country, and our teachers make less than any other state when factoring in cost of living even though we receive the fifth most in federal education dollars.

⁃ We need to cut waste and misappropriation of our education dollars, stop relying on federal dollars with woke strings attached and push to increase our teacher salaries and per pupil spending to competitive levels. We owe it to our children to give them the best chance at a successful life. We only have one chance to properly educate the next generation; let’s do it correctly.

⁃ After traveling the world with the Air Force for the past 20 years, I am happy to call Arizona home. Our district is blessed to include Yuma Proving Ground, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma and to border Luke Air Force Base. We have a great community of currently-serving military members and veterans who have made this area their home.

⁃ I have spent most of my life serving with some of the finest people this country has to offer. I am determined to continue serving our state and country, now as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives.

⁃ As a military retiree, I have firsthand knowledge of the unique needs that our military members and veterans face and am well positioned to support them and their families. I will push for greater support for our currently serving members, veterans and their families.

⁃ Our economy is a disaster and our government acts like a spoiled child with a credit card. In my lifetime alone American’s average annual income has increased 288% while our average taxes have increased a staggering 424%. What do we have to show for a tax increase nearly double that of our income increase? A safer border? Better test scores? Lower national debt? None of the above.

- In the last seven years alone border apprehensions have risen 692%, SAT scores have dropped 3% and our national debt has increased 67%. What is the government doing with our money if everything gets worse with each new dollar they take?

- I have four children whom my wife and I raise to be smart with their money. We wouldn’t allow our children to spend their money recklessly so why do we allow the government to be reckless with ours?

⁃ “(T)he right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” As a constitutional carry state, Arizona has some of the best Second Amendment laws in the country.

⁃ Our right to protect ourselves, our property and our country is unique to our nation and an example of what makes us the greatest country on earth. I will work to ensure that Arizona continues to adhere to the Constitution and I will oppose any legislation attempting to infringe upon our right to keep and bear arms.

⁃ Living in a desert brings many unique challenges, with water scarcity being one of the most troublesome. Arizona is an amazing place to live, and as such, we have attracted tens of thousands of new residents each year. While it’s great to see how many people love our state, it does put an ever-increasing strain on our water supply.

⁃ We owe it to our communities and environment to ensure we have enough water for all to thrive. Our issues will not be solved with restrictions alone. We need to implement commonsense water-related restrictions and aggressively seek new sources of water so that our growing state flourishes.

⁃ This is not a problem for another time; we need to solve this now and provide water security for generations to come.

⁃ As we have seen over the past few elections, trust in our election process is at an all-time low. This decrease is unacceptable. As Benjamin Franklin said, we have “a republic, if you can keep it.” If we lose trust and control of our elections, then we will lose our republic.

⁃ We need to get back to basics with our elections, rooting out any potential for fraud and return trust in our election systems. Our elections touch every part of our lives for years and even decades; we can’t afford to leave to chance the nation our children will inherit.