Justin Wilmeth (born June 26, 1979) is an American politician and former child actor currently representing the 2nd district in the Arizona House of Representatives. He was elected to the 15th district in 2020 after incumbent Republican Nancy Barto decided to run for Arizona Senate.[1] He and Steve Kaiser won in a two–seat election in 2020, both defeating Democrat Kristin Dybvig–Pawelko by over 11,000 votes.[2] He was reelected to the 2nd district in 2022, following redistricting.
Justin Wilmeth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 2nd District | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2023 Serving with Judy Schwiebert | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Hernández Jr. |
| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 15th District | |
| In office January 11, 2021 – January 9, 2023 Serving with Steve Kaiser | |
| Preceded by | Nancy Barto |
| Succeeded by | Neal Carter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 26, 1979 Odessa, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Divorced |
| Children | None |
| Residence(s) | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Arizona State University |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Campaign website |
Early life
editWilmeth was born in Odessa, Texas, on June 26, 1979. He was born to a family of farmers hailing from the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles. His parents moved to California in 1985. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles and attended both private and public schools. He spent the bulk of his childhood acting professionally, appearing in stage plays, national commercials and the Phil Collins music video "Do you Remember?" He has had a Screen Actors Guild Card since 1987.
After his parents' divorce, his mom moved he, his sister and his brother to Trinidad, Colorado, where she finished nursing school. She found a job in Oklahoma City, moving the family there in 1995. Justin, his mother and his two siblings lived in a small apartment in west Oklahoma City during his high school years, graduating from Putnam City West High School in 1998.
Pre-Political career
editAfter spending his early 20s working a series of odd jobs including a barbecue restaurant, Wilmeth helped a high school friend run for the Oklahoma State Legislature in 2004. That friend, Trebor Worthen, won a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. It was also the first time in 80 years the Republican Party held the House majority. After a staff shake-up, Wilmeth served as a communications specialist for 10 years. He also worked as the deputy state director of Americans for Prosperity and multiple political campaigns in Oklahoma. Wilmeth moved to Arizona in July 2015 and, a few months later, secured a job at the Arizona House of Representatives as a majority policy advisor. He worked there until late 2017, when he was named campaign manager for the Phil Lovas for Congress campaign in a special election. Lovas came in second to current Congresswoman Debbie Lesko. Immediately after that, Wilmeth was named campaign manager for the Steve Gaynor for Secretary of State campaign. The election was controversial, as the Associated Press initially called the race for Gaynor with over 600,000 votes left to count.[3] As the votes were further counted, Hobbs opened up a lead and won the election.[4]
Political career
editWilmeth was first approached to run for one of the two open House seats in Legislative District 15 by a friend. That eventually led to a meeting with Nancy Barto, who encouraged him to run for the House and join her on a conservative Republican slate. Wilmeth, Barto and Steve Kaiser formed a team and all three won election in the 2020 campaign cycle. In 2024, Wilmeth has formed a team with Senator Shawnna Bolick and former Phoenix Sister Cities committee chairman and local Young Republican president Ari Bradshaw.
In his first two-year term at the Arizona House of Representatives, he was the prime sponsor of 18 bills that were signed into law.
During his first term, Wilmeth was a part of the Commerce, Health and Transportation committees. He was the vice chairman of Transportation under Frank Carroll.
In 2022, he was named to the 2022 GOPAC Emerging Leaders Class, a prestigious award recognizing the top young legislators nationally.[5]
In 2024, Wilmeth sponsored a bill to designate Pluto as Arizona's State Planet.[6][7] The bill was passed bipartisan out of committee and widely celebrated by American astronomers as Pluto was discovered in Flagstaff, Arizona and is a large source for Arizona's astrotourism industry.[8][9] Wilmeth was also one of three Republicans in the Arizona State House to vote to repeal the 1864 territorial abortion ban, a ban which contained no exceptions for rape or incest.[10]
Education
editWilmeth earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from Arizona State University in 2013 and a Master of Public Administration from Arizona State in 2019. Wilmeth is currently working on completing a Master of Arts in Global Security from Arizona State.
Personal life
editWilmeth is divorced. He resides in the Deer Valley region of far North Phoenix.
References
edit- ^ Oxford, Andrew. "Rep. Nancy Barto claims victory, Sen. Heather Carter concedes in north Phoenix primary". AZCentral.
- ^ "Steve Kaiser, Justin Wilmeth lead pack in LD15 House race". Arizona Capitol Times.
- ^ "AP: Steve Gaynor Wins Arizona Secretary Of State Race; Katie Hobbs Not Conceding". KJZZ. November 6, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "Hobbs claims victory in Secretary of State race". KNXV. November 17, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "2022 GOPAC Class of Emerging Leaders". GOPAC. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ Duhownik, Joe (February 1, 2024). "Arizona House committee moves to make Pluto official state planet, honoring Flagstaff discovery". Tucson Sentinel. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Duda, Jeremy (February 2, 2024). "Pluto could become Arizona's official (dwarf) planet". Axios Phoenix. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Dreyfuss, Martin (January 31, 2024). "It's not officially a planet, but Pluto could be Arizona's official planet". Cronkite News. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Reichley, Marcus (January 17, 2024). "Proposed bill seeks to name Pluto as Arizona's official state 'planet'". AZ Central. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
- ^ Billeaud, Jacques. "Arizona House advances a repeal of the state's near-total abortion ban to the Senate". Associate Press. Associate Press. Retrieved April 26, 2024.