David S. Schweikert

Schweikert introduced the Equal Access to the Colorado River Act (Jan. 29, 2026) to force proportional lower-basin cuts so Arizona is not disproportionately burdened among lower-basin states. He takes a strong Arizona-first position on interstate water allocation, though is less detailed on in-state conservation than Hobbs.

"Equal Access to the Colorado River Act ensures proportional cuts across lower-basin states."

Schweikert is a strong school choice advocate who supports voucher programs and reducing federal education oversight. He backs programs that break the link between zip code and school quality for low-income students.

"Vouchers break the link of low-income and low-quality schools."

Schweikert opposes amnesty and demands concrete border enforcement. He co-sponsored the Birthright Citizenship Act to restrict automatic citizenship, voted to ban DACA recipients from military service, and objected to releasing low-risk undocumented immigrants.

"No more excuses about the failure to secure Arizona's border. We must have real border security and no amnesty for illegal immigrants."

Schweikert supports a deregulatory, market-based housing approach rather than subsidy-heavy intervention, emphasizing removal of federal obstacles to homebuilding and opposing policies that subsidize higher-risk borrowing or provide migrant housing assistance.

Schweikert voted against the For the People Act in both 2019 and 2021, opposing automatic voter registration, same-day registration, and expanded mail-in voting. He argues federal election mandates undermine state administration.

"Same-day registration makes it easier to commit fraud at the polls as election officials have no time to verify the accuracy of voter registration."

Schweikert strongly opposes government-run healthcare and the Affordable Care Act. He supports free-market reforms and has voted repeatedly to repeal the ACA.

"Nationalized healthcare will not only decrease the quality of healthcare in our country, it will blow a massive hole in the federal budget."

Schweikert is strongly pro-gun-rights and hawkish on border security. He has not published a detailed state-level criminal-justice plan comparable to other candidates in the governor race. His instincts are enforcement-friendly, but the state public-safety agenda remains unspecified.

"I have been and will always be a strong defender for the rights of citizens to keep and bear arms."

Schweikert explicitly supports an all-of-the-above energy mix — solar, wind, hydrogen, nuclear, geothermal, carbon utilization, and hydropower — while rejecting one-size-fits-all mandates. He introduced pumped-storage hydropower legislation (Dec. 17, 2024). He does not oppose renewable development, distinguishing him from most conservative peers.

"All-of-the-above energy mix: solar, wind, hydrogen, nuclear, geothermal, carbon utilization, and hydropower."

Schweikert centers his economic agenda on raising wages and affordability, noting Arizona has fallen to 45th in affordability with flat-to-negative wage growth. He argues the fix is free-market growth — fostering enough business competition to push wages up and prices down — and prioritizes recruiting new biotech and engineering employers while preparing workers for AI-driven shifts in the job market.

"The way you do that is you get enough economic business growth that they're competing."

Schweikert strongly opposes abortion rights, having voted to ban federal abortion funding, prohibit embryonic stem cell research, and restrict abortion after 20 weeks. He co-sponsored fetal personhood and Born-Alive Survivors Protection legislation.

"Ban abortion after 20 weeks, except for maternal life."

Schweikert's congressional record includes NEPA permitting reform legislation to let federal agencies delegate environmental review authority to state entities. He has noted Arizona already has a NEPA Assignment agreement with ADOT, indicating support for streamlining infrastructure project review rather than expanding conventional infrastructure spending.

Schweikert strongly supports tax cuts, budget restraint, deficit reduction, and anti-waste reforms. He helped write the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and supports pro-growth tax cuts. He has called for eliminating billions in government waste through discretionary spending reforms.