The field for State Representative in the new Legislative District 29 got a lot more competitive as former State Senator Steve Montenegro and conservative Youth Leader and Grassroots Activist Austin Smith joined the race for the two State House seats.
Montenegro represented much of the new district when it was LD13, and Smith’s family has more than 100 years of roots in Arizona, giving both a strong base from which to run.
Both struck similar themes, which makes sense since they are running as a team for two seats in LD29, talking about securing Arizona elections, increasing border security, ending illegal immigration, protecting Arizona’s water and agriculture sectors, expanding school choice, and keeping Arizona family and taxpayer friendly.
Austin Smith’s campaign announcement video has already amassed over 80,000 views on Twitter alone, giving the 26-year old an encouraging start.
And both Smith and Montenegro were active on the Trump campaigns, with Smith’s work with Turning Point Action helping to set up over 300 Students for Trump chapters on college campuses, and Montenegro appearing as a Trump advocate on English and Spanish news networks.
Joining Montenegro and Smith in the House race is local school board member Trey Terry, who ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate in a Pinal County district in 2014 and also finished last in the 2018 Republican primary for State House in LD13. Terry has been vocal in his initial campaign messaging about battling Critical Race Theory (CRT) but is considered the moderate in the field.
The Senate primary features Janae Shamp, a conservative nurse, and State Representative Joanne Osborne, who has angered conservatives with her liberal voting record on education and illegal immigration related bills.
The primary election is August 2nd, 2022.
Arizona is under attack. Our culture, our border, our elections. All of it.
It’s time to fight back. I love this state, & I refuse to lose it to the radical left.
I’m Austin Smith, & I’m running for LD 29 to protect our western heritage.
Join me ➡️ https://t.co/yYyjP7zj7V pic.twitter.com/JFQNrS5Uf7
— Austin Smith (@azaustinsmith) January 26, 2022