Michele Reagan

Michele Reagan
20th Secretary of State of Arizona
Assumed office
January 5, 2015
Governor Doug Ducey
Preceded by Ken Bennett
Personal details
Born (1969-10-13) October 13, 1969
Rockford, Illinois, U.S.
Political party Republican
Education Illinois State University (BA)

Michele Reagan (born October 13, 1969) is an American Republican politician who is the 20th and current Arizona Secretary of State, succeeding Ken Bennett in 2015.

Early life

A native of Rockford, Illinois and a graduate of Illinois State University she first moved to Arizona in 1991 with her family and opened a FASTSIGNS.

Reagan graduated from Illinois State University and was named by the Aspen Institute to its Rodel Fellowship, a program designed to bring together elected officials who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse.

Career

Reagan was first elected to the Arizona State House in 2002. She was first elected to the Arizona State Senate in 2010. She was named Chair of the Commerce Committee in the House, and later, Chair of the Economic Development and Jobs Creation Committee in the Senate. Michele Reagan also contributed to the formation of the first Senate Elections Committee, of which she served as Committee Chair. Michele Reagan was elected to serve as Arizona's 20th Secretary of State in 2014.

Reagan voted in support of a bill that was referred as the “birther bill” in 2011, which required candidates to prove their citizenship to the secretary of state of Arizona, and bill 1062, a controversial religious freedom bill that was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer.[1][2]

Reagan has earned her numerous awards and accolades including: Small Business Guardian from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Eye of the Eagle award from the Arizona Small Business Association and the Best Legislator in 2008 from the Arizona Capitol Times. Additionally, she was named one of the 50 most Influential Women in Arizona by AZBusiness Magazine in 2013.

Political positions

Michele Reagan has been rated 80% by the American Conservative Union.[3] However, she was given a score of 47% by the conservative Goldwater Institute.[4] In 2010, Reagan was rated 38% by the conservative Americans for Prosperity and was rated 63% in 2014.[5] She was endorsed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.[6]

In 2012, she was rated 60% by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and 50% by NARAL/Arizona Right to Choose indicating a mixed record on abortion, but was rated 0% by Planned Parenthood in 2014 indicating a pro-life record in that year.[7] In 2016, Reagan was rated 67% by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona once again indicating a mixed record on abortion.[8]

Concerning LGBT issues, Reagan was rated 0% by Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, a partisan Democratic group which rates politicians' positions on LGBT issues. However, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Arizona, Reagan said that "[it] should be a proud day for Arizona as we celebrate equality."[9] In 2015, she was rated 79% by the National Rifle Association.[10]

In 2016, Reagan proposed a bill in the Arizona Legislature ostensibly simplify elections, which would allow dark money groups to spend twice as much money on ballot measures as legally allowed, and allow nonprofit groups to spend more on elections.[11] After the Trump administration requested that states provide voter information for a commission on voter fraud, Michele Reagan "said [on July 3] she is rejecting the Trump administration's request for extensive voter information, saying it isn't in the state's best interest."[12]

Controversy

In 2016 Reagan came under scrutiny for failing to mail out as many as a half million publicity pamphlets as required by Arizona law in connection with an election, an investigation which is ongoing.[13]

Personal life

Michele Reagan and her husband, David, currently reside in Scottsdale. She has no relation to the family of Ronald Reagan.

Electoral history

Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Republican Primary Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan 6,348 24.20
Republican Colette Rosati 4,722 18.00
Republican Ron McCullagh 4,554 17.36
Republican Robert Ditchey 4,004 15.26
Republican Scott Steingard 3,459 13.19
Republican Kathleen Gillis 3,146 11.99
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Election, 2002
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan 33,251 39.68
Republican Colette Rosati 25,607 30.56
Democratic Ginny Chin 24,946 29.77
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Republican Primary Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan (inc.) 13,890 45.88
Republican Colette Rosati (inc.) 9,199 30.38
Republican Royce Flora 7,186 23.74
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan (inc.) 50,806 34.44
Republican Colette Rosati (inc.) 41,496 28.13
Democratic Nancy Stein 28,480 19.31
Democratic Nancy Buel 26,737 18.12
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Republican Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan (inc.) 11,302 35.81
Republican John Kavanagh 7,979 25.28
Republican James Burke 5,712 18.10
Republican Carolyn Schoenrock 3,854 12.21
Republican Travis Junion 2,717 8.61
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan (inc.) 40,118 32.89
Republican John Kavanagh 35,260 28.90
Democratic Stephanie Rimmer 26,684 21.87
Democratic William Sandberg 19,931 16.34
Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Election, 2008
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan (inc.) 54,780 38.29
Republican John Kavanagh (inc.) 50,507 35.30
Democratic Stephanie Rimmer 37,793 26.41
Arizona State Senate District 8 Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan 52,532 69.95
Democratic Stuart Turnansky 22,570 30.05
Arizona Secretary of State Republican Primary Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan 217,741 43.24
Republican Justin Pierce 174,422 34.63
Republican Wil Cardon 111,444 22.13
Arizona Secretary of State Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Michele Reagan 779,226 52.22
Democratic Terry Goddard 712,918 47.78

References

  1. ↑ "Michele Reagan struggles to explain 'birther bill' vote". AZ Central. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  2. ↑ "GOP Candidate Refuses To Explain Why She Voted For 'Birther Bill'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  4. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  5. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  6. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  7. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2016-12-05.
  8. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  9. ↑ Nintzel, Jim. "Proof of Evolution". Tucson Weekly. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  10. ↑ "The Voter's Self Defense System". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  11. ↑ Press, Associated (4 March 2016). "Arizona bill quietly loosens dark money rules". Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "Arizona to oppose handing over voter information to Trump commission". azcentral. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  13. ↑ "Reagan election pamphlet probe for Props. 123 and 124 drags into 10th month". Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ken Bennett		 Secretary of State of Arizona
2015–present 		Incumbent
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