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Steve Montenegro

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Steve Montenegro
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 13th district
In office
January 9, 2017 – December 15, 2017
Preceded byDon Shooter
Succeeded bySine Kerr
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 13th district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017
Serving with Darin Mitchell
Preceded byMartha Garcia
Succeeded byDon Shooter
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 12th district
In office
January 12, 2009 – January 14, 2013
Serving with Jerry Weiers
Preceded byJohn B. Nelson
Succeeded byWarren Petersen
Personal details
Born1981 (age 42–43)
El Salvador
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMelissa
Children1
EducationLogos University
Arizona State University (BS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Steve Montenegro is a Salvadoran-American Republican politician from Litchfield Park, Arizona who is a former member of the Arizona Senate. He was previously a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, where he was Speaker Pro Tempore.[1]

In 2014, Montenegro was chosen to serve as Majority Leader in the 2015-2017 session.[2] He resigned from the state senate on December 15, 2017 to focus on his congressional campaign. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Arizona's 8th congressional district special election, 2018. During that race, it was revealed that he received a nude selfy from a capitol staffer, although her attorney confirmed there was no physical relationship between the two.[3]

Early life

Montenegro was born in El Salvador and at age four immigrated to the United States with his family. According to his official biography, he graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Political Science. He also holds an Associate of Arts in Theology from CBAN and Logos Christian University.[4]

Political career

Before his election to the state House, Montenegro was a district representative for Republican Congressman Trent Franks.[5]

Montenegro was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2008, succeeding John B. Nelson.[6] He represents Legislative District 13 (the former District 12), which includes Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Avondale and also Luke Air Force Base.

Montenegro was a Donald Trump delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention.[5] He was also a frequent defender of the President on national TV, where his status as a conservative Latino made him a popular foil for liberal hosts and guests like Jorge Ramos, Anna Navarro, Chris Cuomo, and Jake Tapper.[7]

He was the only Hispanic in the Arizona legislature to vote for the highly controversial Arizona SB 1070. In response to accusations of racial profiling of Hispanics, he replied by saying that "This bill has nothing to do with race or profiling. It has to do with the law. We are seeing a lot of crime here in Arizona because of the open borders that we have."

Montenegro ran for the Republican nomination for Congress in the special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district in 2018, but was defeated by former State Senator Debbie Lesko.[8] He had been endorsed by Congressman Trent Franks (who held the seat until his resignation in 2017 following accusations of sexual misconduct) and by former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.[9] During his campaign, Montenegro emphasized his support for President Donald Trump.[5]

Controversy

During Arizona's 8th congressional district special election, 2018 it was revealed that he received a nude selfy from a capitol staffer, although her attorney confirmed there was no physical relationship between the two.[3] The staffer reportedly sent a topless photo of herself, to which Montenegro responded, "Snap", a reference to the popular messaging app Snapchat, which is famous for its sent photos to be viewed only temporarily.[3] Montenegro called the story "false tabloid trash", but was ultimately defeated in the election.

Personal life

Steve also serves as Associate Pastor at the Surprise Apostolic Assembly. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Arizona Charter Academy.[10]

Elections

  • 2016 Term limited, and with incumbent Senator Don Shooter running for the house instead, Montenegro ran for the Arizona senate, defeating Diane Landis in the Republican Primary and was unopposed in the general election.[11]
  • 2014 Montenegro and Darin Mitchell defeated Diane Landis in the Republican primary. Mitchell and Montenegro defeated Steve Hansen in the general election.[12]
  • 2012 Redistricted to District 13, Montenegro ran in the three-way August 28, 2012 Republican Primary; Montenegro placed first, Darin Mitchell placed second with 8,572 votes, and Representative Russ Jones who was redistricted from District 24, placed third;[13] Montenegro won the first seat in the 2012 General election.[14]

References

  1. ^ "State Of Arizona Official Canvass" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  2. ^ Fischer, Howard (November 6, 2014). "David Gowan Selected as speaker of the House". Verde Independent. Capitol Media Services. Archived from the original on November 25, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "ARIZONA GOP CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE SWEPT UP IN SEXTING CASE". Phoenix, Arizona: KIMT. February 24, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. ^ Steve Montenegro, Arizona Legislature (last accessed December 28, 2017).
  5. ^ a b c "Crowded race to replace Rep. Trent Franks reshapes state's political landscape". azcentral. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  6. ^ "State Of Arizona Official Canvass" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 28, 2011. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  7. ^ "State senator, Jorge Ramos debate Arpaio pardon". Phoenix, Arizona: CNN. August 27, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Christie, Bob; Snow, Anita (February 28, 2018). "GOP winner of Arizona primary expected to win US House seat". The Washington Post. AP.
  9. ^ "Trent Franks, Joe Arpaio endorse Arizona senator for Franks' former seat". KTAR. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  10. ^ "Steve Montenegro for Arizona House of Representatives". Montenegroaz.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  11. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2016 General Election November 8, 2016" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  12. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2014 General Election November 4, 2014" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 9. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  14. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 General Election November 6, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
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