Wikipedia

Justin Wilmeth

Justin Wilmeth
Wilmeth in 2024
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 11, 2021
Serving with Stephanie Simacek
Preceded byNancy Barto
Constituency15th district (2021–2023)
2nd district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born (1979-06-26) June 26, 1979 (age 46)
Political partyRepublican
Signature
WebsiteCampaign website

Justin Wilmeth is an American politician and former child actor who has been a member of the Arizona House of Representatives since 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was elected to the 15th district in 2020, and was subsequently elected from the 2nd district.

Political career

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Wilmer ran for a Legislative District 15 seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, in a distinct covering north Phoenix, after incumbent Republican Nancy Barto decided to run for Arizona Senate.[1]

In 2020, Wilmeth and Steve Kaiser won the a two–seat election, defeating Democrat Kristin Dybvig–Pawelko.[2] Following resdistricting, he was placed in Legislative District 2.[3] Wilmeth was reelected in 2022.[3] In the 2024, Democrat Stephanie Simacek came in first place in LD2; for the second seat, Wilmet and fellow Republican by Ari Daniel Bradshaw were separated by 0.08% in the initial count, triggering a recount.[4] In the recount, Wilmeth had 46,943 votes (29.76%), edging out Bradshaw, who received 46,809 votes (29.68%).[5]

In 2022, Wilmeth was named to the 2022 GOPAC Emerging Leaders Class.[6]

In 2023-2024 session, Wilmeth was chairman of the House Commerce Committee.[3] In 2024, Wilmeth sponsored a bill to designate dwarf planet Pluto as Arizona's state planet.[7][8] (Pluto was discovered by astronomers at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.[9][10]) The bill passed the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs.[11]

Wilmeth supported Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.[3]

In 2024, Wilmeth was one of three Republicans in the Arizona State House who voted to repeal Arizona's 1864 ban on abortion (adopted when Arizona was still a territory), a ban which contained no exceptions for rape or incest.[12]

References

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  1. ^ Oxford, Andrew. "Rep. Nancy Barto claims victory, Sen. Heather Carter concedes in north Phoenix primary". AZCentral.
  2. ^ "Steve Kaiser, Justin Wilmeth lead pack in LD15 House race". Arizona Capitol Times.
  3. ^ a b c d Mary Jo Pitzl, Where do Legislative District 2 House candidates stand on Arizona's key issues?, Arizona Republic (October 3, 2024).
  4. ^ Jerod MacDonald-Evoy, A handful of 2024 Az races are headed to recounts, including one legislative seat, Arizona Mirror (November 20, 2024).
  5. ^ Final Official Recount Results of November 5, 2024 General Election, Maricopa County, Arizona.
  6. ^ "2022 GOPAC Class of Emerging Leaders". GOPAC. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  7. ^ Duhownik, Joe (February 1, 2024). "Arizona House committee moves to make Pluto official state planet, honoring Flagstaff discovery". Tucson Sentinel. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  8. ^ Duda, Jeremy (February 2, 2024). "Pluto could become Arizona's official (dwarf) planet". Axios Phoenix. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Reichley, Marcus (January 17, 2024). "Proposed bill seeks to name Pluto as Arizona's official state 'planet'". AZ Central. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  11. ^ Ben Bradley, Gov. Hobbs signs bill making Pluto Arizona’s official state planet, KTVK (March 29, 2024).
  12. ^ Billeaud, Jacques. "Arizona House advances a repeal of the state's near-total abortion ban to the Senate". Associated Press. Retrieved April 26, 2024.