T.J. Shope
Thomas Shope (Republican Party) (also known as T. J.) is a member of theArizona State Senate, representingDistrict 16. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. His current term ends on January 11, 2027.
Shope (Republican Party) ran for re-election to theArizona State Senate to representDistrict 16. He won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.
Shope began serving asstate Senate president pro tempore in 2023.
Biography
T.J. Shope was born in Florence, Arizona, and lives in Coolidge, Arizona. Shope graduated from Coolidge High School in 2003. He earned a B.S. in political science from Arizona State University in 2008. His career experience includes co-owning Shope's IGA Supermarket.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Arizona State Senate District 16
IncumbentThomas Shope defeatedStacey Seaman in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Thomas Shope (R) | 56.0 | 58,386 |
| Stacey Seaman (D) | 44.0 | 45,888 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 104,274 | ||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 16
Stacey Seaman advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 16 on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Stacey Seaman | 100.0 | 14,235 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 14,235 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16
IncumbentThomas Shope defeatedJudy Nganga in the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16 on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope | 99.9 | 19,630 |
| Judy Nganga (Write-in) | 0.1 | 26 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 19,656 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shope in this election.
Pledges
Shope signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Arizona State Senate District 16
IncumbentThomas Shope defeatedTaylor Kerby in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 16 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope (R) | 55.7 | 41,057 |
 | Taylor Kerby (D) | 44.3 | 32,636 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 73,693 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 16
Taylor Kerby advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 16 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Taylor Kerby | 100.0 | 15,172 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 15,172 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16
IncumbentThomas Shope advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 16 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope | 100.0 | 19,177 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 19,177 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Daniel Wood (R)
Campaign finance
2020
State senate election
See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for Arizona State Senate District 8
Thomas Shope defeatedBarbara McGuire in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 8 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope (R) | 58.5 | 50,639 |
 | Barbara McGuire (D) | 41.5 | 35,963 | |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 86,602 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 8
Barbara McGuire advanced from the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 8 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barbara McGuire | 100.0 | 13,857 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 13,857 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 8
Thomas Shope advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 8 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope | 100.0 | 17,413 |
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 17,413 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
State house election
Shope was not able to file for re-election due toterm limits.
2018
General election
General election for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 (2 seats)
IncumbentDavid Cook and incumbentThomas Shope defeatedCarmen Casillas andLinda Gross in the general election for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Cook (R) | 29.2 | 28,421 |
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope (R) | 28.9 | 28,150 |
 | Carmen Casillas (D) | 21.8 | 21,171 | |
 | Linda Gross (D) | 20.1 | 19,530 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 97,272 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 (2 seats)
Carmen Casillas andLinda Gross defeatedPablo Correa in the Democratic primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Carmen Casillas | 39.6 | 6,916 |
| ✔ | | Linda Gross | 30.6 | 5,343 |
| Pablo Correa | 29.9 | 5,222 | ||
| There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 17,481 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 (2 seats)
IncumbentThomas Shope and incumbentDavid Cook advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona House of Representatives District 8 on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Thomas Shope | 50.9 | 10,432 |
| ✔ | | David Cook | 49.1 | 10,062 |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 20,494 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
Elections for theArizona House of Representatives took place in2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.[2] IncumbentFrank Pratt (R) did not seek re-election.
David Cook and incumbentThomas Shope, Jr. defeatedCarmen Casillas in the Arizona House of Representatives District 8 general election.[3][4]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 8 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  David Cook | 35.82% | 31,565 | |
| Republican | Thomas Shope, Jr.Incumbent | 34.52% | 30,416 | |
| Democratic | Carmen Casillas | 29.66% | 26,138 | |
| Total Votes | 88,119 | |||
| Source:Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
Carmen Casillas ran unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Democratic Primary.[5]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 8 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Carmen Casillas (unopposed) | |
IncumbentThomas Shope, Jr. andDavid Cook were unopposed in the Arizona House of Representatives District 8 Republican Primary.[6]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 8 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Thomas Shope, Jr.Incumbent | |
| Republican | David Cook | |
2014
Elections for theArizona House of Representatives took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 26, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was May 28, 2014.Carmen Casillas was unopposed in the Democratic primary. IncumbentsFrank Pratt andT.J. Shope defeatedWayne Bachmann andDarla Dawald in the Republican primary. Pratt and Shope defeated Casillas in the general election.[7][8][9][10]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank PrattIncumbent | 36.4% | 19,458 | |
| Republican | Thomas "TJ" ShopeIncumbent | 35.9% | 19,198 | |
| Democratic | Carmen Casillas | 27.7% | 14,847 | |
| Total Votes | 53,503 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Frank PrattIncumbent | 32.2% | 5,992 |
| T.J. ShopeIncumbent | 29.9% | 5,556 |
| Darla Dawald | 21.9% | 4,081 |
| Wayne Bachmann | 16% | 2,974 |
| Total Votes | 18,603 | |
2012
Shope won election in the2012 election forArizona House of Representatives District 8. He and incumbentFrank Pratt won in the August 28, 2012 Republican primary. He won the general election on November 6, 2012.[11][12][13]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank PrattIncumbent | 27.6% | 24,195 | |
| Republican | Thomas "T.J." Shope | 25.2% | 22,102 | |
| Democratic | Ernest Bustamante | 24.3% | 21,258 | |
| Democratic | Emily Verdugo | 22.9% | 20,102 | |
| Total Votes | 87,657 | |||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Thomas Shope did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Thomas Shope did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Thomas Shope did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Shope was assigned to the following committees:
- Director Nominations,Vice-Chair
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee,Vice-Chair
- Senate Public Safety Committee
- Natural Resources Committee,Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
2023-2024
Shope was assigned to the following committees:
- Director Nominations
- Senate Elections Committee (Decommissioned)
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee,Chair
- Natural Resources Committee,Vice Chair
- Senate Rules Committee
- Legislative Council
2021-2022
Shope was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Education and Transportation Committee,Vice-Chair
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee
- Natural Resources Committee,Vice-Chair
- Transportation and Technology Committee (Decommissioned),Vice-Chair
2019-2020
Shope was assigned to the following committees:
- House Education Committee
- Natural Resources, Energy and Water Committee
- House Rules Committee,Vice Chairman
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Arizona committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| •Commerce |
| •Rules |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Shope served on the following committees:
| Arizona committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| •Agriculture, Water and Lands |
| •Commerce |
| •Rural and Economic Development, Chair |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Shope served on the following committees:
| Arizona committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| •Agriculture and Water |
| •Commerce, Vice Chair |
| •Energy, Environment and Natural Resources |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Arizona State Senate District 16 | Won general | $288,648 | $301,997 |
| 2022 | Arizona State Senate District 16 | Won general | $221,380 | $200,451 |
| 2020 | Arizona State Senate District 8 | Won general | $110,850 | N/A** |
| 2018 | Arizona House of Representatives District 8 | Won general | $136,016 | N/A** |
| 2016 | Arizona House of Representatives, District 8 | Won | $114,269 | N/A** |
| 2014 | Arizona State House, District 8 | Won | $99,604 | N/A** |
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arizona scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 15.
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2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 9 to July 31.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 10 to June 25.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 11 to June 30.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 13 to May 26.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, theArizona State Legislature was in session from January 14 through May 28.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, the 54thArizona State Legislature was in session from January 8 through May 4.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, the 53rdArizona State Legislature was in session from January 9 through May 4.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the 52ndArizona State Legislature was in session from January 11 through May 7.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the 52ndArizona State Legislature was in session from January 12 to April 2.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the 51stArizona State Legislature was in session from January 13 to April 24.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 51stArizona State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 14.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate Arizona State Senate District 16 | Officeholder Arizona State Senate District 16 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑Arizona State Legislature, "Senate Member Thomas Shope," accessed December 25, 2020
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed January 11, 2016
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "General election ," accessed September 9, 2016
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 official general election results," accessed November 11, 2016
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information - Primary Candidate List," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "2016 Election Information - Primary Candidate List," accessed June 3, 2016
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed August 27, 2014
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "2014 Primary Election," May 27, 2014
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "Official general election candidate list," accessed September 11, 2014
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "2012 Primary candidate list," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑Arizona Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑trivalleycentral.com, "Shope seeks House seat in new district," December 8, 2011(dead link)
- ↑Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedARA
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kelly Townsend (R) | Arizona State Senate District 16 2023-Present | Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by Frank Pratt (R) | Arizona State Senate District 8 2021-2023 | Succeeded by Juan Mendez (D) |
| Preceded by - | Arizona House of Representatives District 8 2013-2021 | Succeeded by Frank Pratt (R) |
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