2022 Arizona Statewide Candidates
Statewide Candidate Introduction
This month we will have four candidates running for some of the top offices in Arizona. This is your chance to listen to and meet with these candidates. We need the best Republicans filling these positions so that on the Federal and State level we are able to regain and control our Republic and State. Stay informed. Stay involved. Make a difference!
Candidate for Attorney General: Andrew W. Gould
Andrew W. Gould was appointed as a Justice to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2017 after serving 5 years on Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals. He retired from the Supreme Court in March 2021. Prior to his appointment to the Court of Appeals, Justice Gould spent 11 years as a Judge of the Superior Court in Yuma County, where he served as both Associate Presiding Judge and Presiding Judge. He received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1990. He began his legal career in Phoenix, Arizona, practicing in the field of civil litigation. In 1994, he became a Deputy County Attorney, prosecuting major criminal cases for Yuma and Maricopa Counties. He served as Chief Civil Deputy for the Yuma County Attorney’s Office from 1999-2001. Justice Gould has previously served on the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Technology, as the President of the Arizona Judges’ Association, and has taught at the Judicial Conference and New Judge Orientations.
Candidate for Secretary of State: Mark FincheM
Representative Mark Finchem was born in Easter, Michigan, and grew up in West Michigan. He served 21-years with the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, first as a firefighter/paramedic, then as a law enforcement officer.
Living outside of Kalamazoo, he also ranched and farmed in a very small rural community. When he retired, Rep. Finchem moved to Tucson, Arizona. Since then he has led both large and small business organizations, maintains his ranching roots and is eager to serve others.
Rep. Finchem was originally elected to serve in the 2015 Legislature, and now is in his 4th term. Mark Finchem is certified Six Sigma process engineer, a graduate of Grand Canyon University with a BA in State and Local Public Policy- summa cum laude, and is currently working to complete a Master’s Degree in legal studies and economics at the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers School of Law.
Candidate for Governor: Matt Salmon
Matt Salmon is a proven and committed conservative fighter for Arizonans.
Salmon served in both the Arizona Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, where he earned a reputation for standing on principle and challenging the status quo, ultimately becoming a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus alongside conservative leaders like Jim Jordan, Ron DeSantis, Mark Meadows, and Mick Mulvaney.
Raised in Tempe, Salmon attended public schools, graduated from Arizona State University, and later earned a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. After completing his education, Matt worked as an executive with a major telecommunications firm in Arizona.
Matt’s career in public service began in 1990 when he defeated an incumbent member of the Arizona Senate in the Republican primary. Four years later, he was elected to represent Arizona’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During his time in Congress, Salmon was named a “Defender of Liberty” and earned the “Taxpayer Hero” award from Citizens Against Government Waste. Among Matt’s many legislative accomplishments was the sponsoring and passing of “Aimee’s Law,” a measure that gave “no second chances” for rapists, molesters, and murderers.
After honoring his term limit pledge and leaving Congress in 2001, Matt went back to the private sector where he experienced firsthand the obstacles many Arizonans face when trying to grow a small business. As he watched the size of our government and our national debt explode and our individual freedoms shrink, he decided to return to public service.
With support from conservative leaders across the country, Salmon was elected to represent Arizona’s Fifth Congressional District.
Matt was a leader in the fight to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a system that offers more affordable options to patients and puts them in charge of their healthcare – not government bureaucrats. He also served as chairman of the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, a committee of particular importance to border states like Arizona, where he worked to help secure the release of U.S. Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi from jail in Mexico.
Matt is a lifetime member of the NRA with an A rating for supporting and defending the Second Amendment.
One hundred percent pro-life, Matt is a proud advocate for our society’s most innocent and vulnerable citizens – the unborn.
Matt has been married for 42 years to his best friend, Nancy. They are the proud parents of four children and the proud grandparents of nine grandchildren.
Candidate for US Senate: Mick McGuire
Major General Michael T. McGuire has dedicated 33 years of his life to serving our country. From navigating aerial combat over Iraq to negotiating with state and federal legislators, he has a proven track record of leading diverse teams through challenging situations. Since 2013 McGuire has been the Adjutant General of the Arizona National Guard and, more recently, is currently the Chairman of the Board for the National Guard Association of the United States, which is the voice for nearly 45,000 current and former National Guard officers throughout the country.
The McGuire family has deep roots in Arizona, dating back to the 1920s, when his great grandfather settled in the state. Major General McGuire upheld this legacy, having lived in Arizona for much of his adult life.
Major General McGuire’s life cannot adequately be described apart from his family. He and his wife Debbie have been married for 32 years. They have raised three wonderful daughters and are the proud grandparents of their first grandchild.
Background (1987–2013)
Major General McGuire is a Fighter Weapons School Graduate and a command pilot with more than 4,000 flying hours, including 250 combat and combat-support flying hours. After receiving his commission from the United States Air Force Academy in 1987, McGuire graduated pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas before serving on several operational, combat and training assignments.
In 2001, McGuire joined the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing, Tucson International Airport, as an instructor pilot. Then, in 2010, McGuire commanded the 214th Reconnaissance Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where he led the unit in combat operations in support of overseas contingencies. In 2011, McGuire returned to the 162nd Fighter Wing, but this time as the commander. He held this position until 2013.
Arizona TAG and Director of DEMA (2013–2021)
For nearly eight years (2013–2021), Major General McGuire served as the Adjutant General (TAG) of the Arizona National Guard, reporting directly to Governor Ducey as the senior military officer in the state. In addition, Major General McGuire simultaneously served as the Director of the State of Arizona’s Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA), overseeing emergency response efforts across Arizona.
In his role as Adjutant General, McGuire supervised the training for approximately 8,300 National Guard personnel, certifying the readiness of all deployments of Arizona soldiers and airmen into combat zones. In addition, he balanced the annual training budget of 750 million dollars and managed over six billion dollars in equipment and real property assets.
In 2020, McGuire coordinated the largest mobilization of the Arizona National Guard since World War II to combat COVID-19. Over a 10-month period, nearly 6,700 individual missions were completed across Arizona, totaling nearly 400,000 working hours.
Working with the governor’s office, Major General McGuire advocated for education and workforce development. During his tenure, state funding was restored to Arizona’s tuition reimbursement for National Guardsmen and federal tuition reimbursement was established for Arizona Air National Guardsmen.
