Schweikert served two terms in the Arizona State House of Representatives (1991–1994), chaired the state Board of Equalization (1995–2004), and was the elected Maricopa County treasurer (2004–2007). He ran for the U.S. House of Representatives twice (losing the primary to J. D. Hayworth in 1994 and the general election to incumbent Harry Mitchell in 2008) before being elected in 2010.
Early life and education
Schweikert was born to an unwed teenage mother, Mary Lynn Sheridan, in Los Angeles, California. According to Schweikert, Sheridan had considered an abortion but chose instead to place him for adoption.[3] He grew up in Scottsdale with his adoptive parents and two adopted siblings. He graduated from Saguaro High School in 1980, then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and real estate in 1985 and an MBA from W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.[4]
Schweikert was appointed chair of the Arizona State Board of Equalization, a full-time job, and served from 1995 to 2003.[9] As chair, he oversaw billions of dollars in valuations and tax protests from Arizona citizens and businesses.[10] There was speculation in 1999 that Arizona governorJane Dee Hull might appoint him to the Arizona Corporation Commission.[11]
Schweikert was appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer of Maricopa County in 2004 and elected treasurer the same year. He resigned in 2007 to run for Congress again.[8][12][13] Professionally, he worked in real estate.[14]
Schweikert won a six-way Republican primary election on September 2 with 30% of the vote, compared to 27% for his nearest rival, Susan Bitter Smith.[18]
Several organizations endorsed Schweikert in the election, including the primary: Club for Growth, the Arizona Police Association, Arizona Right to Life, and the Arizona Medical Association.[19] He received more than $500,000 from the Club for Growth.[20][21]
Schweikert lost to freshman incumbentDemocratHarry Mitchell, 53%–44%.[22] He later attributed his defeat on the very bitter primary fight that preceded it.[23]
Schweikert sought a rematch with Mitchell in 2010, with Libertarian Nick Coons also running. Schweikert won the Republican primary on August 24 with 37% of the vote. After having sat out the competitive primary, the Club for Growth again endorsed Schweikert.[24]
On November 2, Schweikert defeated Mitchell, 52%–43%.
After redistricting, the bulk of Schweikert's former territory became the 9th district, while his home in Fountain Hills was drawn into the newly created 4th district.[25] But as soon as the maps were released, Schweikert announced he would run in the 6th district. That district had previously been the 3rd, represented by fellow Republican freshman Ben Quayle. In a statement announcing his reelection plans, Schweikert pointed out that he had grown up in Scottsdale—most of which had been drawn into the 6th as well—had represented it in both the state house and in Congress and owned a second home there.[26] A revised map, however, placed Schweikert's Fountain Hills home in the reconfigured 6th.[27][28]
Quayle, whose home in Phoenix had been drawn into the 9th but was just outside the boundaries of the 6th, also opted to seek reelection in the 6th. During the bitter primary, Schweikert was widely criticized for a mailer that accused Quayle of "going both ways", suggesting that he was bisexual. On the reverse, the mailer listed issues on which it claimed Quayle had taken both liberal and conservative positions. Senator Jon Kyl, who had represented the district from 1987 to 1995, said that "such campaign tactics insult the voters, degrade politics and expose those who stoop to them as unworthy of high office", and Senator John McCain said the mailer was one of the "worst that I have seen" and that it "crosses the boundary of decent political dialogue and discourse." Quayle's spokeswoman called the mailer "utterly false" and "a sleazy smear tactic." Schweikert's spokesman responded that people "should get their minds out of the gutter" because the mailer was "obviously" referring to "'both ways'—as in liberal and conservative." The Arizona Republic asked two political scientists to review the mailer; both said that they had "never seen anybody accuse someone of flip-flopping [on political issues] that way" and said that it was "difficult to believe" that the sexual suggestion was unintentional.[29][30][31][32]
Although the 6th contained almost two-thirds of Quayle's constituents, Schweikert defeated Quayle in the primary–in what was then a heavily Republican district–53% to 47%.[33] He was reelected with 62% of the vote.[34]
In 2018, Democratic tech executive Anita Malik held him to only 55% of the vote despite spending very little money.[35] Malik won 44%,[36] the first time a Democrat had crossed the 40% mark in what is now the 6th since 1976, when Eldon Rudd won election by only 707 votes in what was then the 4th District[37] (the district was numbered as the 3rd from 2003 to 2013, and has been the 6th since 2013).
In 2020, Schweikert was challenged by Democrat Hiral Tipirneni, who had run in the neighboring 8th district two years earlier. The Cook Political Report rated the race a tossup, partly due to the district's changing demographics. According to Cook Political Report, the 6th has the most college graduates in Arizona;[35] in recent years, college graduates had trended away from the GOP.[38] Schweikert defeated Tipirneni with 52% of the vote.[39]
In 2022, Schweikert ran for reelection in the newly redrawn 1st district.[40] He defeated Democratic nominee Jevin Hodge in the general election by less than one percent of the vote.[41]
Schweikert ran for reelection in 2024 against Democratic nominee Amish Shah, an emergency room physician.[42] Schweikert defeated Shah in the November 2024 general election.[43]
Tenure
116th Congress (2019–2021)
Schweikert joined representatives Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar in voting against the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. He called it "one of the more difficult votes I've ever had to make." While the bill included some components he helped write, he voted against it due to the limited time to read it.[44]
In 2018, the United States House Committee on Ethics launched an investigation into Schweikert and his chief of staff, Oliver Schwab, over funds misuse.[45] On July 30, 2020, Schweikert admitted to 11 violation counts and agreed to an official reprimand by the House and a $50,000 fine.[46][47] The committee found undisclosed loans and campaign contributions; misuse of campaign contributions for personal use; improper spending by his office; and pressuring staffers to do political work. The House Ethics Committee also faulted him for evasive, misleading, and stalling tactics that helped him skirt more serious violations.[48] The report laid out a "surprisingly sizable amount of misconduct over a seven year period." Schweikert said these were inadvertent errors, but the committee reported that "the weight of the evidence" did not support his contention.[49]
The House Republican Steering Committee removed Schweikert from the Committee on Financial Services in late 2012 as part of a larger party leadership-caucus shift.[55][56] He, Justin Amash and Tim Huelskamp wrote to House SpeakerJohn Boehner asking why they had lost their committee posts.[57]Politico quoted a spokesperson for Representative Lynn Westmoreland saying that Schweikert, Amash and Huelskamp were removed for "their inability to work with other members."[58][59]: p.2
Schweikert advocates for the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortion services except in cases of rape, incest, or risk to the mother's life, and supports making this restriction permanent.[69] He also opposes funding for Planned Parenthood and has backed legislation to exclude the organization from any federally funded programs.[70][71]
Cannabis
Schweikert has a "B" rating from NORML for his voting record on cannabis-related issues. He supports allowing veterans access to medical cannabis, provided it is legal in their state and recommended by their Veterans Health Administration doctor. He has voted twice in favor of this through the Veterans Equal Access Amendment.[72]
Foreign policy
In 2016, Schweikert opposed President Obama's proposal to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.[73] Schweikert was critical of the Iran nuclear deal, calling it "disastrous."[74] In 2015, Schweikert was one of 26 Republicans to vote against a Republican leadership-sponsored defense spending proposal, voicing concerns about increasing defense expenditures without corresponding budget offsets.[75]
In 2023, he voted with 47 other Republicans in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which would have directed President Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[78][79]
Gun policy
In 2015, he introduced legislation to remove firearm sales and ammunition from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's list of high-risk industries.[80] In 2016, he proposed legislation to remove the District of Columbia's requirement that people seeking concealed carry permits demonstrate a "good reason" to do so.[81][82]
Health care
Schweikert has repeatedly voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA).[83][84][85][86] During Republican efforts to replace and repeal the ACA in 2017, he pushed for proposals to repeal more components of the ACA than other members of his party.[87] He played a key role in whipping votes to repeal the ACA, in particular from fellow members of the Freedom Caucus.[88][89] He has argued that the Affordable Care Act is "an economy killer" because of "the cost it has on companies, taxpayers and individuals".[90]
Schweikert supported legislation to reverse a U.S. Department of Labor rule that established a fiduciary standard for retirement and pension advisers, requiring financial advisers to prioritize their clients' financial interests over their own.[92]
In 2011, Schweikert wrote a letter to President Obama asking him to return royalties from U.S. embassies' purchases of books written by the president.[93]
In 2015, Schweikert was one of 17 Republicans to oppose the 2015 United States federal budget, arguing that it did not sufficiently address mandatory spending on entitlement programs.[95] He has called for cutting spending on Medicare and Social Security,[96] arguing that "hard choices" must be made.[94]
In 2022, Schweikert joined 39 other Republicans in supporting the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, a bipartisan antitrust measure designed to address anti-competitive corporate behavior.[100][101]
Personal life
Schweikert and his wife, Joyce, live in Fountain Hills, Arizona.[102] They adopted a daughter in 2015[103] and a son in 2022.[104] Schweikert is Roman Catholic.[105]
Electoral history
1990
1990 Arizona House of Representatives 28th district election
^ ab"Description of the 2nd Presentation on July 25, 2007 by David Schweikert Maricopa County Treasurer"(PDF). PRECISION NEWS: The Newsletter of the Arizona Tooling & Machining Association. Arizona Tooling & Machining Association. 2007. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 25, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2009. In December 2004, David Schweikert was sworn in as Maricopa County Treasurer. He has a B.S. degree in Finance/Real Estate and [an] MBA from W.P. Carey/Arizona State University. Before becoming Treasurer, David served as Chief Deputy Treasurer. Prior to that, he served as chairman of the Arizona State Board of Equalization. David has worked as an investment analyst and has been involved in the Real Estate industry and property tax issues for 25 years. In 1990, David was elected to represent Northeast Maricopa County in the Arizona House of Representatives. In 1992 he was selected to the position of Majority Whip. Issue 2, 2007
^"State Board of Equalization"(PDF). Maricopa County government. June 24, 2005. Archived from the original(PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2009. ...additional member designated as Chairperson by the Governor who shall serve in a full time capacity.
^"AZ Fact Check". Az Fact Check: Keeping Arizona Honest. Azcentral.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015.
^Davenport, Paul (June 11, 1999). "Hull anxious to pick West substitute". Lake Havasu City, Arizona: Today's News-Herald. Associated Press. Retrieved April 20, 2009. The fractious Arizona Corporation Commission ... has been mired in controversy thanks to politics and personalities. Now, with Tony West's removal from the three-member commission, the need to wait for a replacement to be named by Gov. Jane Hull creates new uncertainty ... Names figuring in public speculation about the appointment include ... former state Rep. David Schweikert ....[permanent dead link] Vol 34, No 116
^Wingett, Yvonne (November 14, 2007). "Maricopa County has new tax collector". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 20, 2009. Board of Supervisors appointed Charles "Hos" Hoskins the new county's treasurer. He replaces David Schweikert, who resigned on Oct. 22 to feel out a run for Congress.
^"Club for Growth PAC-Endorsed Candidate Wins in AZ-05". Washington, D.C.: Club for Growth. September 3, 2008. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved April 20, 2009. The former Maricopa County Treasurer topped a highly competitive field of six candidates to win the right to face freshman Harry Mitchell in the general election in November. The Club for Growth PAC bundled $337,000 in campaign contributions for Schweikert and spent over $200,000 in independent expenditures on his behalf.
Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013)
