Thomas Ray "T. J." Shope Jr. (born August 12, 1985) is an American Republican politician and businessman who has been a member of the Arizona Legislature from the 16th Legislative District, which covers central and eastern Pinal County and southern Gila County. First elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2012, he was a member of the House from January 2013 to January 2021; in the latter part of his time in the state House, he was Speaker Pro Tempore. Shope was elected to the Arizona State Senate in November 2020, and took office in January 2021.
T. J. Shope | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President pro tempore of the Arizona Senate | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Vince Leach |
| Member of the Arizona Senate from the 16th district | |
| Assumed office January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Kelly Townsend |
| Member of the Arizona Senate from the 8th district | |
| In office January 11, 2021 – January 9, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Frank Pratt |
| Succeeded by | Juan Mendez |
| Speaker pro tempore of the Arizona House of Representatives | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 11, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Robson |
| Succeeded by | Travis Grantham |
| Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 8th district | |
| In office January 14, 2013 – January 11, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Michelle Ugenti-Rita |
| Succeeded by | Frank Pratt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Ray Shope Jr. August 12, 1985 Florence, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Central Arizona College Arizona State University, Tempe (BA) |
Early life
editShope was born in Florence, Arizona, in 1985, to Thomas "Tom" Shope Sr. and Luz Shope and resides in Coolidge, Arizona.[1] A third-generation elected official, Shope's father was a former mayor of Coolidge, and his grandfather was a member of the city council.[2] Shope's family owned a grocery store in Coolidge for over 70 years.[3]
He received his bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 2008.[4]
Political career
edit
Shope was a member of a local school board before seeking election to the Arizona House of Representatives as a Republican.[2] He was first elected to the state House in 2012, at age 27, from the 8th Legislative District.[4][5] Shope's district is heavily rural and Republican-dominated;[2] it encompasses parts of Gila and Pinal counties,[6] specifically Coolidge, Globe, Superior, Florence, San Tan Valley, and portions of Casa Grande and Eloy.[7] He was reelected to the House in 2014,[8] 2016,[9] and 2018.[10] Shope was speaker pro tempore of the state House.[2][11]
In 2013–14, after initially taking a neutral position on Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act,[12] Shope became one of a handful of Republicans who joined Democrats in supporting Medicaid expansion (which extended health-care coverage to more low-income Arizonans). Medicaid expansion was supported by Governor Jan Brewer, but opposed by most Republican officials and right-wing activists.[13][14]
In 2019, Shope sponsored legislation that repealed a 1991 state law barring HIV/AIDS instruction that "promotes a homosexual lifestyle" or "portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle"; Shope said that the language was antiquated.[15] The repeal passed the Senate on a 19–10 vote and the House on a 55–5 vote.[16]
Shope sponsored a measure in 2019, supported by Governor Doug Ducey, to amend the Arizona State Constitution to repeal its provision for legislative immunity during and before the state legislative session; however, the bill was blocked by Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers.[17][18][19]
In 2020, Shope was elected to the Arizona State Senate seat from the 8th Legislative District, defeating Democratic nominee Barbara McGuire.[6]
In September 2020, ahead of the November 2020 presidential election, Shope endorsed Donald Trump and appeared at a Trump rally in Arizona.[20] In December 2020, amid acrimonious infighting among Arizona Republicans about Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat in the election, Shope said that he supported Trump while simultaneously saying that a Republican turn to the far right would lead to the nomination of unelectable candidates who would repulse moderate voters.[21]
In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, Shope opposed an Arizona State University policy that required students who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to comply with CDC public health recommendations by taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests and using face masks.[22] (Republican governor Ducey subsequently issued an executive order blocking the ASU policy.[22]) However, Shope sided with all Senate Democrats in opposing a bill, sponsored by Senate Republican Bret Roberts, to make it a crime for businesses to decline to serve customers who lacked proof of vaccination, and would authorize the state to shut down such businesses. Shope said he believed the proposal went too far and unfairly restricted the rights of private business owners.[23]
Following the Arizona Supreme Court's decision to reinstate an 1864 Territorial abortion law that banned nearly all abortions without exceptions for rape and incest, Shope and Senator Shawnna Bolick were the first two legislative Republicans to call for its repeal.[24] On May 1, 2024, Shope and Bolick voted with all Democrats in the State Senate 16–14 to repeal the ban, one week after the State House voted 32–28 too.[25][26]
References
edit- ^ "TJ Shope Legislative Profile". CBS AZ 5. 2017.
- ^ a b c d Bryan Bender, In the wilds of Arizona, a hunt for bipartisanship, Politico (November 28, 2020).
- ^ Coolidge store owned by Arizona lawmaker's family is robbed, Associated Press (February 20, 2020).
- ^ a b Hank Stephenson, Fresh faces: Legislature will welcome near record number of newcomers, (Arizona Capitol Times November 20, 2012).
- ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2012 General Election, November 6, 2012, Arizona Secretary of State.
- ^ a b State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2020 General Election, November 3, 2020, Arizona Secretary of State.
- ^ Kelly Fisher, Shope will seek re-election rather than run for congress, Casa Grande Dispatch (May 31, 2017).
- ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2014 General Election, November 4, 2014, Arizona Secretary of State.
- ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2016 General Election, November 8, 2016, Arizona Secretary of State.
- ^ State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2018 General Election, November 6, 2018, Arizona Secretary of State.
- ^ Jeremy Duda, House passes parts of budget in late-night action, but Senate still appears stalled, Associated Press (May 25, 2019).
- ^ Hank Stephenson, Rep. Shope goes from on the fence to (mostly) on board, Arizona Capitol Times (May 10, 2013).
- ^ Medicaid fight re-emerges in GOP legislative primaries, Arizona Republic (July 14, 2014).
- ^ Editorial: Reward legislative courage: Re-elect the brave, Arizona Republic (September 29, 2014).
- ^ Arizona House votes to repeal HIV/AIDS instruction law, Associated Press (April 10, 2019).
- ^ Arizona repeals law that forbids promoting a 'homosexual lifestyle' in schools, Arizona Republic (April 11, 2019).
- ^ Carmen Forman & Ben Giles, Legislative immunity measure dead, Arizona Capitol Times (February 15, 2019).
- ^ Arizona proposal to repeal legislative immunity may be dead, Associated Press (February 16, 2019).
- ^ Laurie Roberts, Key Arizona legislators: We should be immune from arrest, Arizona Republic (January 16, 2019).
- ^ Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Alison Steinbach, Enthusiastic, mostly maskless supporters cheer Trump's Latino pitch Arizona Republic (September 14, 2020).
- ^ Eliza Collins, Arizona Republicans Are Racked by Infighting Over Trump, Coronavirus, Wall Street Journal (December 13, 2020).
- ^ a b Bob Christie, Ducey blocks ASU policy requiring masks for unvaccinated, Associated Press (June 15, 2021).
- ^ Howard Fischer, Lawmakers nix plan to punish businesses for requiring vaccines for patrons, Capitol Media Services (May 20, 2021).
- ^ Dias, Elizabeth; Browning, Kellen (2024-04-17). "Arizona Republicans Splinter Over Repeal of 1864 Abortion Ban". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Gomez, Gloria Rebecca (2024-04-24). "AZ House has voted to repeal the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Supreme Court". Arizona Mirror. Retrieved 2024-05-02.
- ^ Shugerman, Emily (2024-05-01). "Two Republicans Break Ranks to Repeal Arizona's 1864-Era Abortion Ban". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2024-05-02.