U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 1994 Schweikert ran in the September Republican primary in
Arizona's 6th congressional district. It included NE Arizona, including parts of
Metro Phoenix.
J. D. Hayworth defeated him, 45%–22%. After that defeat, Schweikert took time to reconsider and left for a lengthy vacation, which included travel to
Kolkata, the
Philippines,
Myanmar, and
Serbia, among other places.
2008 Schweikert won a six-way Republican
primary election on September 2 with 30% of the vote, compared to 27% for his nearest rival,
Susan Bitter Smith. Several organizations endorsed Schweikert in the election, including the primary:
Club for Growth, the Arizona Police Association, Arizona
Right to Life, and the Arizona Medical Association. He received more than $500,000 from the Club for Growth. Schweikert lost to freshman
incumbent Democrat Harry Mitchell, 53%–44%. He later attributed his defeat on the very bitter primary fight that preceded it.
2010 Schweikert sought a rematch with Mitchell in 2010, with Libertarian Nick Coons also running. Schweikert won the Republican primary on August 24 with 37% of the vote. After having sat out the competitive primary, the Club for Growth again endorsed Schweikert. On November 2, Schweikert defeated Mitchell, 52%–43%.
2012 After redistricting, the bulk of Schweikert's former territory became the
9th district, while his home in Fountain Hills was drawn into the newly created
4th district. But as soon as the maps were released, Schweikert announced he would run in the 6th district. That district had previously been the 3rd, represented by fellow Republican freshman
Ben Quayle. In a statement announcing his reelection plans, Schweikert pointed out that he had grown up in Scottsdale—most of which had been drawn into the 6th as well—had represented it in both the state house and in Congress and owned a second home there. A revised map, however, placed Schweikert's Fountain Hills home in the reconfigured 6th. Quayle, whose home in Phoenix had been drawn into the 9th but was just outside the boundaries of the 6th, also opted to seek reelection in the 6th. During the bitter primary, Schweikert was widely criticized for a mailer that accused Quayle of "going both ways", suggesting that he was
bisexual. On the reverse, the mailer listed issues on which it claimed Quayle had taken both liberal and conservative positions. Senator
Jon Kyl, who had represented the district from 1987 to 1995, said that "such campaign tactics insult the voters, degrade politics and expose those who stoop to them as unworthy of high office", and Senator
John McCain said the mailer was one of the "worst that I have seen" and that it "crosses the boundary of decent political dialogue and discourse." Quayle's spokeswoman called the mailer "utterly false" and "a sleazy smear tactic." Schweikert's spokesman responded that people "should get their minds out of the gutter" because the mailer was "obviously" referring to "'both ways'—as in liberal and conservative."
The Arizona Republic asked two political scientists to review the mailer; both said that they had "never seen anybody accuse someone of flip-flopping [on political issues] that way" and said that it was "difficult to believe" that the sexual suggestion was unintentional. Although the 6th contained almost two-thirds of Quayle's constituents, Schweikert defeated Quayle in the primary–in what was then a heavily Republican district–53% to 47%. He was reelected with 62% of the vote.
2014 Schweikert was easily reelected in 2014, winning over 60% of the vote.
2016 Schweikert was easily reelected in 2016, winning over 60% of the vote.
2018 In 2018, Democratic tech executive
Anita Malik held him to only 55% of the vote despite spending very little money. Malik won 44%, the first time a Democrat had crossed the 40% mark in what is now the 6th since 1976, when
Eldon Rudd won election by only 707 votes in what was then the 4th District (the district was numbered as the 3rd from 2003 to 2013, and has been the 6th since 2013).
2020 In 2020, Schweikert was challenged by Democrat
Hiral Tipirneni, who had run in the neighboring
8th district two years earlier. The
Cook Political Report rated the race a tossup, partly due to the district's changing demographics. According to
Cook Political Report, the 6th has the most college graduates in Arizona; Schweikert defeated Tipirneni with 52% of the vote.
2022 In 2022, Schweikert ran for reelection in the newly redrawn 1st district. He defeated Democratic nominee
Jevin Hodge in the general election by less than one percent of the vote.
2024 Schweikert ran for reelection in 2024 against Democratic nominee
Amish Shah, an emergency room physician. Schweikert defeated Shah in the November 2024 general election. Schweikert made the
U.S. national debt the centerpiece of his campaign. Schweikert does not endorse spending cuts or tax increases; rather, he proposes "a 'unified theory' of debt reduction that includes a 'radical adoption of technology' such as artificial intelligence, a talent-based immigration system and a comprehensive plan to attack chronic obesity, among other proposals."
Tenure 116th Congress (2019–2021) Schweikert joined representatives
Andy Biggs and
Paul Gosar in voting against the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. He called it "one of the more difficult votes I've ever had to make." While the bill included some components he helped write, he voted against it due to the limited time to read it. In 2018, the
United States House Committee on Ethics launched an investigation into Schweikert and his chief of staff, Oliver Schwab, over funds misuse. On July 30, 2020, Schweikert admitted to 11 violation counts and agreed to an official
reprimand by the House and a $50,000 fine. The committee found undisclosed loans and campaign contributions; misuse of campaign contributions for personal use; improper spending by his office; and pressuring staffers to do political work. The House Ethics Committee also faulted him for evasive, misleading, and stalling tactics that helped him skirt more serious violations. The report laid out a "surprisingly sizable amount of misconduct over a seven year period." Schweikert said these were inadvertent errors, but the committee reported that "the weight of the evidence" did not support his contention.
117th Congress (2021–2023) On January 6, 2021, Schweikert was at the U.S. Capitol for the
2021 United States Electoral College vote count during the
January 6 United States Capitol attack. Schweikert voted to certify Arizona's votes but voted against certifying Pennsylvania's votes. In the wake of the Capitol attack, Schweikert voted against the
second impeachment of Donald Trump. In March 2021, he voted against the
American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Schweikert was a founding member of the
Freedom Caucus. He left the group in 2023.
Committee assignments For the
118th Congress: •
Committee on Ways and Means •
Subcommittee on Oversight (Chair) •
Subcommittee on Social Security •
Subcommittee on Tax The House Republican Steering Committee removed Schweikert from the Committee on Financial Services in late 2012 as part of a larger party leadership-
caucus shift. He,
Justin Amash and
Tim Huelskamp wrote to
House Speaker John Boehner asking why they had lost their committee posts.
Politico quoted a spokesperson for Representative
Lynn Westmoreland saying that Schweikert, Amash and Huelskamp were removed for "their inability to work with other members."
Caucus memberships •
Congressional Taiwan Caucus •
Congressional Western Caucus •
U.S.–Japan Caucus •
Republican Study Committee •
Congressional Coalition on Adoption •
Climate Solutions Caucus ==2026 Arizona gubernatorial election==