Clint Smith (Arizona)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Clint Smith

Independent

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

Brigham Young University, 1981

Law

Arizona State University, 1985

Personal

Birthplace

Hemet, Calif.

Religion

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Profession

Attorney in financial matters and estate planning

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Clint Smith (independent) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 5th Congressional District. He will not appear on the ballot for the general election on November 5, 2024.

Biography

Clint Smith was born in Hemet, California. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in 1981. He earned a law degree from Arizona State University in 1985. His career experience includes working as an attorney in financial matters and estate planning.

Elections

2024

See also: Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2024

Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Democratic primary)

Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Republican primary)

General election

The primary will occur on July 30, 2024. The general election will occur on November 5, 2024. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Evan Olson (Independent)
• Clint Smith (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Katrina Schaffner is running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate
		Katrina Schaffner

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Incumbent Andy Biggs is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate
		Andy Biggs

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Alex Stovall (R)
• Casey Michel (R)

Endorsements

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2022

See also: Arizona's 5th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Incumbent Andy Biggs defeated Javier Garcia Ramos, Clint Smith, and Debra Jo Borden in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Biggs (R)	56.7	182,464
		Javier Garcia Ramos (D)	37.4	120,243
		Clint Smith (Independent)	5.9	18,851
		Debra Jo Borden (D) (Write-in)	0.0	32

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 321,590
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Travis Lindberg (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Javier Garcia Ramos advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Javier Garcia Ramos	100.0	50,647

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,647
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Benjamin Larivee (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5

Incumbent Andy Biggs defeated Jim Beall, Martin Callan, and David Boels in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 5 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Biggs	99.5	98,114
		Jim Beall (Write-in)	0.2	197
		Martin Callan (Write-in)	0.2	193
		David Boels (Write-in)	0.1	66

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 98,570
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Clint Smith did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Clint Smith completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Smith's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’m a husband, a father and a grandfather. I’m an outdoorsman, a former Scoutmaster of a Boy Scout Troop, and an engaged citizen in the community. And for the past 35 years, I have been a small business owner in the District - running my own independent law practice. I’ve worked with thousands of clients in my practice, helping people achieve peace of mind through greater financial security.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Civility, truth and integrity are lacking. I want to bring them back.
• Rational immigration reform
• Education is key to our future and must improve and adapt

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

The many effects of the assault on democracy after the 2020 election. While it may not have been perfect, it was secure and the outcome was decided by the voters. It needs to always be decided by the voters.
I care deeply about the climate with resulting effects on the water supply in Arizona. I believe there is room for rational gun regulations that will keep weapons out of the hands of unstable people.
But government intervention in the economy should be limited so that businesses can thrive.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

John J. Rhodes, Congressman for Arizona for over 30 years. I worked in his office as an intern in 1981. He reached across the aisle to make important things happen, like the completion of the Central Arizona Project that blesses Arizona still today. He had courage to do the right thing, even when it meant public disagreement with members of his party, including the President.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The idea is inspired: local representatives go to DC and represent the interests of their friends and neighbors while exercising their judgment in policy making.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

Government experience, especially if it is a career path, isn't necessary. But one must understand the framework within which government can and should work, as well as how it worked - or didn't - in the past. So political knowledge and experience is necessary.

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Tribalism. The inability and unwillingness to listen to others but instead to label and villify.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Natural Resources, Small Business, Financial Services, Ethics

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I support term limits. I personally intend to stay no more than three terms. Entrenchment leads to disconnection with constituents, and that defeats a major purpose of our representative democracy. "Elected official" shouldn't be a career path.

Is there a particular representative, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

John J. Rhodes of Arizona

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Absolutely. This is seriously lacking and leads to more vitriol and less achievement.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Smith's campaign website stated the following:

“	Growing the Economy for All Elected leaders have a responsibility to create the conditions for prosperity. Free markets, free enterprise and people free to pursue their goals unencumbered by unnecessary regulations are the best way to unleash the forces of economic growth. I am for the government making it easier for businesses to thrive. Immigration Arizona is the first line of defense against illegal immigration, and also the first to benefit from the good things that result when enterprising, hard-working human beings come here legally from other countries. Secure borders are vital to our national security. Concurrently, we must ensure that people who want to come and contribute to our nation are able to do so. That’s why I support policies that make our borders secure and functional. We can do more to assist the millions of immigrants who are here and have been here for years, especially the children and young adults who don’t even know their parents’ home country and have only ever called the United States home. Water I am concerned with how little our leaders are doing to resolve the slow-motion but persistently growing water disaster imminently facing Arizona, particularly our over-reliance on groundwater to support development. We need to think bigger and act bolder to ensure our demand for water does not exceed our supply of water because that day is coming quickly. For too long, environmental protections have been met with anti-business rhetoric. It’s past time to sit down for conversations on how we can protect the environment with minimal disruptions to business. Women's Rights I believe every life is sacred, but so are privacy and freedom. The government should not be forcing its way into doctors’ offices - especially when it comes to something as deeply personal as a pregnancy. Those discussions and decisions should be left to the patient and their doctor. When I am in Congress, I will support legislation that affirms a woman’s right to make her own decisions on reproductive health, free of government interference. LGBTQ+ Our community needs someone who is willing to stand up for the rights of all Arizonans, including the LGBTQ+ community. I have done that in my personal and professional life, and will continue to do so as your member of Congress. I believe our friends and family, our neighbors and members of this community should not worry that their government could limit or take away their rights or whether their marriage could one day be invalidated by judges. Gun Safety When Congress recently passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, it was a major step in the right direction to finally enacting gun safety reform. I support the Second Amendment. But like our government, I believe in checks and balances. I support gun safety measures such as red-flag laws, raising the age for purchasing firearms, common sense safety regulations on assault weapons and mandatory background checks. There is more we can do, and when I am in Congress, I will support efforts to make our communities safer. Foreign Trade We need to take steps that promote our interests abroad. Our standing globally matters, and we must find ways to compete in the global economy by promoting free trade agreements with partners that embrace our democratic and free market values while ensuring that the United States remains “pro-business.” Support for Law Enforcement We cannot have rule of law without law enforcement. I will advocate for our police and Border Patrol so they have the resources to do their jobs justly. It is an utter disgrace that some Republican members of Congress failed to support the U.S. Capitol Police during and following the aftermath of January 6, 2021. Education Our future is at risk if we don’t direct immediate attention to educating the rising generations. Our public educators deserve the resources needed to provide a world-class education for all of our students in the classroom. We need more school counselors and more special needs educators as we already ask too much of the far too few dedicated and tireless people we have. Our students need more than technical skills; they need to learn how to adapt, problem solve, and create. The framework is in place, but action must follow. We cannot afford to let American students fall behind. Elections Democracy means the people have the power, and one of our greatest civic duties is exercised by voting. We depend on a fair and equitable process to ensure the people and causes we vote for are put into place when they prevail in a secure election. I want to help Arizonans have more confidence that their voices are heard by shoring up our election processes where necessary and making sure voting is accessible and secure for all who are legally eligible to vote. Term Limits I am the only candidate in Az-05 who has signed the pledge: three terms for House, two terms for Senate. We don't need career politicians, we need citizens who step up.	”
—Clint Smith's campaign website (2022)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Clint Smith campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Arizona District 5	Withdrew general	$48,705	$40,904
2022	U.S. House Arizona District 5	Lost general	$197,483	$197,483
Grand total			$246,188	$238,387
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2024 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. House Arizona District 5

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Footnotes

[show]

Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Mark Kelly (D)

Kyrsten Sinema (I)

Representatives

District 1

David Schweikert (R)

District 2

Eli Crane (R)

District 3

Ruben Gallego (D)

District 4

Greg Stanton (D)

District 5

Andy Biggs (R)

District 6

Juan Ciscomani (R)

District 7

Raúl Grijalva (D)

District 8

Debbie Lesko (R)

District 9

Paul Gosar (R)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (4)

Independent (1)