Gowan made three unsuccessful bids for elected office before gaining election to the state Legislature. Between 2009–2010 he served as Vice Chair of the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. In 2010, he sponsored and introduced the House version of
Arizona SB 1070. In 2013 he was elected as Majority Leader of the Republican Caucus. Gowan maneuvered to oust fellow Republican
Bob Robson from the chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee due to Robson's support for Medicaid expansion. In the internal party race for the position, he defeated
J.D. Mesnard and
Eddie Farnsworth, and became the first state House speaker from southern Arizona in more than 30 years. Gowan referred himself to the
Arizona Attorney General's Office; in a memorandum released in 2017, the AG's Office decided not to pursue charges, concluding that although the "substantial disregard for determining whether state funds for per diem, mileage and official travel were paid pursuant to proper authority" was potentially a violation of state law, "the violations were not undertaken knowingly or intentionally but were instead attributable to negligence" and therefore did not meet the
criminal intent standard for a prosecution. As state House speaker, Gowan generated controversy in April 2016 for revoking access of reporters to the House floor unless they agreed to an extensive criminal and civil background check. The publisher of the
Arizona Capitol Times suggested that Gowan's change in the rule was in retaliation for its
investigative journalism. In 2016, Gowan sought the Republican nomination for the seat in the
U.S. House of Representatives from the
Arizona's 1st congressional district, but withdrew shortly before the Republican primary and endorsed
Gary Kiehne. In 2018, Gowan ran for and won seat in the Legislative District 14 seat in the
Arizona Senate, succeeding
Gail Griffin. In 2020, Gowan sponsored legislation to change the
Arizona Corporation Commission (the state's public utilities regulator) from being an elected body to being a body appointed by the governor with confirmation by the state Senate. In 2021, Gowan sponsored legislation that would allow the Arizona state Legislature to
override election results; he later dropped the bill. ==Personal life==