Travis Grantham

Travis Grantham
Speaker pro tempore of the Arizona House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 11, 2021
Preceded byT. J. Shope
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Serving with Laurin Hendrix
Preceded byLupe Diaz
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 12th district
In office
January 9, 2017 – January 9, 2023
Serving with Jake Hoffman
Preceded byWarren Petersen
Succeeded byPatty Contreras
Personal details
Born (1979-02-24) February 24, 1979 (age 45)
Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationArizona State University, Tempe (BS)
Signature
WebsiteCampaign website

Travis Grantham (born February 24, 1979) is an American politician and a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 14 in 2022. He previously represented District 12 from 2017 to 2023. Grantham was also a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent the 9th congressional district of Arizona.

Elections

In 2012, Grantham ran for the U.S. House in the newly drawn 9th district. He was defeated by Vernon Parker in the 7-way Republican primary, receiving 18.4% of the vote and coming in 3rd.[1]

In 2016, Grantham and incumbent Eddie Farnsworth defeated LaCinda Lewis in the Republican primary for Arizona's 12th legislative district. They were unopposed in the general election.[2]

Legislative activity

In 2018 Grantham sponsored a proposed state constitutional amendment which would have allowed the legislature to place candidates for the US Senate on the ballot.[3] Also in 2018 he opposed the extension of a sales tax used to support education saying, "We're not addressing what I believe to be one of the main issues of the bill - which is hey, there's these buckets in the bill that money is dropped into them and the schools have to spend the money as the bill's written."[4] In 2021 he served as speaker pro tempore of the House.[5] In April 2021, he made news after referring "colored people" and demanding that a black legislator be "sat down" during a debate about a voting rights bill.[6]

Background and personal information

Grantham received a bachelor's degree in agribusiness from Arizona State University. He is a current Lieutenant Colonel in the Arizona Air National Guard.[7]

References

  1. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2012 Primary Election August 28, 2012" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 12, 2013. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  2. ^ "State of Arizona Official Canvass 2016 General Election November 8, 2016" (PDF). Phoenix, Arizona: Secretary of State of Arizona. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  3. ^ "Arizona Lawmaker Wants to Do Away With US Senate Primary Vote". Arizona Public Media. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  4. ^ Christie, Bob (2018-03-23). "Arizona Lawmakers Approve Education Sales Tax Extension - AZPM". news.azpm.org. Associated Press. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  5. ^ Kassandra Lau. "House Republicans' priorities for 2021 Arizona legislative session - AZPM". news.azpm.org. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  6. ^ Massie, Graeme (2021-04-23). "Arizona lawmaker uses racist language and demands Black colleague be 'sat down' in clash over voting rights bill". The Independent. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
  7. ^ "About Travis". Travis Grantham for Arizona. Retrieved 2021-09-27.
Arizona House of Representatives
Preceded by Speaker pro tempore of the Arizona House of Representatives
2021–present 		Incumbent