Austin Smith (politician)

Austin Smith
Smith in 2022
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives from the 29th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byCesar Chavez
Personal details
Born (1995-04-20) April 20, 1995 (age 29)
Glendale, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
Residence(s)Wittmann, Arizona, U.S.
Alma materGrand Canyon University
OccupationNon-Profit Director
CommitteesVice Chairman - Natural Resources, Energy and Water
Signature
WebsiteAustinForArizona.com

Austin Smith (born April 20, 1995) is an American politician. He has been a member of the 29th district of the Arizona House of Representatives, alongside Steve Montenegro, since 2023.[2] In April 2024 he withdrew his bid for a second term and resigned as a senior director of Turning Point Action amid allegations he had forged voter signatures on election documents.[3]

Life and career

Smith was a conservative youth leader.[4] He is a former director of Turning Point USA, the conservative youth organization co-founded by Charlie Kirk and the late Bill Montgomery, and he is the former chairman of the Arizona branch of the Young Republicans.[5]

In January 2021, Smith was elected chairman of the Arizona Young Republicans Federation. He directed Turning Point Action - Charlie Kirk's 501(c)4 political wing of Turning Point USA. He was endorsed by Congressman Paul Gosar for the State House in January 2022. He has received endorsements from the Arizona Free Enterprise Club, the Arizona State Troopers Association, Home Builders Association of Central Arizona, Center for Arizona Policy Action, Make Liberty Win, Republicans for National Renewal, the National Rifle Association and support from various agricultural groups in the beef, dairy and cotton industries.

In August 2022, Smith defeated Hop Nguyen and Trey Terry in the Republican primary election for the 29th district of the Arizona House of Representatives.[6] In November 2022, he defeated Scott Podeyn along with Steve Montenegro in the general election.[7] He assumed office in 2023. In 2023, he introduced a bill that passed the Arizona House of Representatives and the Arizona Senate to ban ranked choice voting in the State of Arizona.[8][9] The measure will appear on the statewide Arizona ballot in November 2024. He is a member of the far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus in the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2023 he was appointed to the Arizona Water Banking Authority by Speaker of the House Ben Toma. Smith is one of two youngest Republicans in history elected to the Arizona House of Representatives.[10]

Voter signature forgery

Smith has long been an "election integrity warrior" and promoter of stolen election conspiracy theories, dismissing signature verification on Maricopa County ballots as "a joke." In April 2024 he withdrew his bid for reelection and resigned from Turning Point Action, three days after he was accused in a court filing of forging voter signatures on petitions he filed to qualify for the July Republican primary. Smith denied wrongdoing but said he could not afford the cost of litigating the matter. The allegations were referred to the Arizona attorney general's office for review, while Smith alleged Democrats had engineered the complaint.[11][12][13]

References

  1. ^ "These Arizona candidates still say Donald Trump won in 2020, or they're not sure what happened". The Arizona Republic. July 15, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "House Member". Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Vigdor, Neil (April 19, 2024). "Lawmaker Accused of Forging Voters' Names Resigns From Turning Point Action". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Montenegro, Smith Join New LD29 House Race". Arizona Daily Independent Network. January 28, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Smith, Austin; Todd, Cheryl; Todd, Dan. "GunFreedomRadio EP313 Revival of Young Voters with Austin Smith". Apple Podcasts. Gun Freedom Radio. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  6. ^ "2022 Arizona State House - District 29 Republican Primary Results". USA Today. August 2, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  7. ^ "2022 Arizona State House - District 29 Election Results". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Roberts, Laurie (30 January 2023). "Arizona's MAGA legislators are terrified of voters and it shows". AZ Central. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  9. ^ Gilger, Lauren (3 April 2023). "Republicans make moves to ban ranked choice voting before it reaches the Arizona ballot". KJZZ. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  10. ^ Gomez, Gloria Rebecca (5 April 2023). "Lawmakers to ask AZ voters to block ranked-choice voting in 2024". AZ Mirror. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  11. ^ Roberts, Laurie (April 17, 2024). "An election integrity warrior may have forged signatures to get on the ballot? Nooooo". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  12. ^ Duda, Jeremy (April 18, 2024). "Arizona GOP Rep. Austin Smith ends campaign amid forgery allegations". Axios.
  13. ^ Vigdor, Neil (April 19, 2024). "Lawmaker Accused of Forging Voters' Names Resigns From Turning Point Action". The New York Times.


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