David Schweikert
David Sheridan Schweikert is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from since 2023, previously representing the 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2023 and the 5th from 2011 to 2013. He is a member of the Republican Party. His district includes most of northern Phoenix as well as Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Cave Creek.
Schweikert previously served in the Arizona State House of Representatives from 1991 to 1994, chaired the state Board of Equalization from 1995 to 2004, and was Maricopa County treasurer from 2004 to 2007.
Schweikert and Paul Gosar have shared the deanship of Arizona's congressional delegation since the death of Raúl Grijalva on March 13, 2025. In September 2025, Schweikert announced that he would not run for re-election to the U.S. House and would instead seek the Republican nomination in the 2026 Arizona gubernatorial election.
Early life and education
Schweikert was born to an unwed teenage mother, Mary Lynn Sheridan, in Los Angeles, California. According to Schweikert, Sheridan had considered an abortion but chose instead to place him for adoption. He grew up in Scottsdale with his adoptive parents and two adopted siblings. He graduated from Saguaro High School in 1980, then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and real estate in 1985 and an MBA from W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.Early career
Arizona House of Representatives (1991–1995)
Schweikert was elected to the Arizona State House of Representatives for District 28 in 1990 and reelected in 1992. He represented Fountain Hills and part of Scottsdale. He was a committee chair as a freshman and majority whip in his second term.Local politics (1995–2007)
Schweikert was appointed chair of the Arizona State Board of Equalization, a full-time job, and served from 1995 to 2003. As chair, he oversaw billions of dollars in valuations and tax protests from Arizona citizens and businesses. There was speculation in 1999 that Arizona governor Jane Dee Hull might appoint him to the Arizona Corporation Commission.Schweikert was appointed Chief Deputy Treasurer of Maricopa County in 2004 and elected treasurer the same year. He resigned in 2007 to run for Congress again. Professionally, he worked in real estate.
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 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.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; in recent years, college graduates had trended away from the GOP. 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
- * Subcommittee on Social Security
- * Subcommittee on Tax