Paul Gosar

In 2009, Gosar, who had never run for elected office before, announced that he would challenge Democratic incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick in the 1st district in the 2010 elections. He was identified as a Tea Party candidate by The New York Times because the Arizona Tea Party featured him on its website.[15]

Gosar won the Republican primary. He was endorsed by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and three Arizona county sheriffs: Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio, Coconino County's Joe Richards, and Pinal County's Paul Babeu.[16] Kirkpatrick challenged him to five debates across the district.[17][18] Gosar initially agreed to one debate, but later withdrew. He released a statement explaining that his decision to withdraw from the debate was based on the long drive to and from the television station, KAET in Phoenix, which had organized the debate,[19] but a producer at KAET said that Gosar's staff had told the station that the candidate could not participate in the debate because he would be attending a fundraiser instead.[20]

Gosar defeated Kirkpatrick in the November 2010 general election, taking 49.7% of the vote.

Gosar initially planned to seek reelection in the 1st district, which had been made less favorable to Republicans as a result of redistricting,[21] but with Kirkpatrick priming for a rematch, he changed his mind and announced in January 2012 that he would run in the newly created 4th district. The 4th had absorbed much of the western portion of the old 1st district, and was heavily Republican. Gosar rented an apartment in Prescott, the largest city in the 4th, which he claims as his official residence.[22] He claimed he would eventually buy a home in the district. However, he still claims his home in Flagstaff as his primary residence; he has long received tax breaks on his Flagstaff home due to this status. While he is registered to vote in Yavapai County, home to Prescott, his wife is registered to vote in Coconino County, home to Flagstaff.[23]

Gosar initially faced a tough primary fight against Babeu, but Babeu pulled out in May 2012 due to allegations of abuse of power.[24] Gosar defeated former state senator Ron Gould and businessman Rick Murphy in the Republican primary, all but assuring him a second term in Congress. In the November general election, he defeated Democratic challenger Johnnie Robinson with 67% of the vote.[25]

Gosar easily won reelection, winning 70% of the vote against Democratic nominee Mikel Weisser in the 2014 midterm elections.[26]

Gosar faced Weisser again in 2016. Weisser attempted to use Gosar's support of then-nominee Donald Trump and the recent Access Hollywood tape against him in campaign ads.[27] Gosar was reelected with 71% of the vote.[28]

Gosar speaking at the 2018 Arizona Manufacturing Summit in Phoenix, Arizona

In September 2018, six of Gosar's nine siblings spoke out against their brother and endorsed his Democratic opponent, David Brill, in a series of television campaign ads that drew national and international coverage.[29][30] In the first ad, sisters Grace and Jennifer, both identified as health care providers, told viewers that their brother did not care about people in rural Arizona. In another ad, called "A family defends its honor," brother David Gosar, a lawyer, declared, "We've got to stand up for our good name. This is not who we are." Paul Gosar responded to the ads on Twitter, describing his siblings as "disgruntled Hillary supporters" who "put political ideology before family".[30]

Gosar defeated Brill in the November 2018 general election with 68.2% of the vote.

Gosar was reelected with 69.7% of the vote over Democratic nominee Delina DiSanto. Six of his nine siblings—Grace, Jennifer, Joan, Gaston, David and Tim—endorsed his opponent, as they had in 2018.[31]

In January 2016, Gosar wrote and proposed legislation to strip Bill Cosby of his Presidential Medal of Freedom after Cosby admitted drugging women. His proposal received the support of Angela Rose and her nonprofit organization, with which Gosar consulted when writing the bill; President Barack Obama stated he would "take a look" at the proposal, but it never saw passage.[32][33]

On December 9, 2020, Gosar and Democratic U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard introduced the Break Up Big Tech Act of 2020, aiming to remove Section 230 legal immunity for computer service providers who act as publishers and censor their users.[34]

On January 6, 2020, Gosar tweeted a doctored photograph that showed former President Barack Obama meeting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, with the caption: "The world is a better place without these guys in power". The encounter never happened; the picture was a photoshopped version of one showing Obama meeting former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh. The photojournalist Daniel Medina pointed out that Rouhani was still in power and condemned Gosar's attempt to spread disinformation.[35][36] The photoshopped image was also featured in a 2015 TV ad for Senator Ron Johnson.[37] To widespread criticism, Gosar said, "No one said this wasn't photoshopped."

Several weeks after the November 2020 presidential election, Gosar was one of 27 Republican members of Congress who requested that U.S. Attorney General William Barr "appoint a Special Counsel to investigate irregularities in the 2020 election."[38] The Arizona Republican Party produced a video, featuring Gosar and Representative Andy Biggs, claiming that there was widespread voter fraud in the election. Gosar claimed that Arizona's voting machines were faulty, that Wisconsin intentionally paused counting votes to "dump" 100,000 votes into the count for Joe Biden, and that dead people voted in Pennsylvania. He and Biggs also demanded an audit of Maricopa County's vote count.[39] Gosar strongly objected to counting electoral votes for Biden from certain states.

Through November, Gosar participated in Stop the Steal protests, comparing their efforts to the Battle of the Alamo.[40] Later, he tweeted a comparison between the fight for the America First agenda and Teruo Nakamura of the Imperial Japanese Army; Nakamura refused to recognize news of Japan's surrender in World War II for three decades, and remained on the remote island of Morotai alone until his discovery in 1974.[41]

Gosar repeatedly spoke at Stop the Steal events, claiming without basis that then-President-elect Biden was an "illegitimate usurper" and that President Trump was the victim of an attempted coup.[42]

In December after the election, right-wing political activist and organizer Ali Alexander said that he, Gosar, Biggs, and Representative Mo Brooks were "planning something big": a "mob" to pressure Congress into rejecting the election results.[43] In a since-deleted video, Alexander said: "We four schemed up of putting maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting."[42] Gosar's office did not respond to media inquiries about this allegation. News outlets noted that Gosar's social media accounts had expressed support for Alexander in the past.[43][44][45]

In the joint session of Congress to count formally the votes of the Electoral College on January 6, 2021, Gosar and Senator Ted Cruz led a challenge to Arizona's electoral results.[46]

Hours after the January 6 storming of the Capitol during which one police officer and four marchers eventually died, Gosar was the first member of Congress to advance the conspiracy theory that antifa was to blame for the violence, echoed by Brooks and Representative Matt Gaetz.[47][48] When Congress reconvened that night, the challenge to the Arizona vote had been rejected 6-93 in the Senate and 121-303 in the House. Gosar, Biggs and Debbie Lesko of Arizona voted to reject Arizona's vote results.[49][50]

As a result of Gosar's alleged involvement in the storming of the Capitol, three of his siblings called for his expulsion from Congress. "When you talk about what happened the other day, you're talking about treason. You're talking about overthrowing the government. That's what this is. If that doesn't rise to the level of expulsion, what does?", said Tim Gosar.[51][52] On January 19, the last day of the Trump administration, it was reported that Gosar and Biggs sought pardons from the outgoing president. No pardons were granted to the two representatives or to "anyone else involved in the Jan. 6 failed coup attempt that sought to block Biden’s certification as president" according to one report.[53]

• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power
  • Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
• Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
  • Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives, vice-chair
  • Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations
  • Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency and Financial Management

As of November 2017, Gosar is a member of dozens of House caucuses. They include:

• Republican Study Committee[54]
• Congressional Western Caucus (chairman)[55]
• Congressional Interstate 11 Caucus (co-chairman)[56]
• Congressional Inventions Caucus (co-chairman)[57]
• House Freedom Caucus[58]
• Congressional Constitution Caucus[59]
• U.S.-Japan Caucus[60]
• Second Amendment Caucus

Gosar describes himself as pro-life. He cosponsored the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, a bill that would make permanent restrictions on federal funding of abortions in the US,[61] and the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, an act placing restrictions on abortions in the District of Columbia.[62] Gosar was given a 100% rating by the National Right to Life Committee, a pro-life interest group, and a 0% rating by NARAL (National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League), a pro-choice interest group.[63]

As of 2020, Gosar has a "0" out of 100 rating from the Humane Society of the United States.[64] Gosar supports updating the Endangered Species Act, calling it "status quo" and "costly, burdensome and uncertain."[65]

On September 17, 2015, in an op-ed on the conservative website Townhall.com, Gosar announced that he would not attend Pope Francis's planned address to a joint meeting of Congress unless the Pope spoke about issues such as "violent Islam" or Planned Parenthood instead of climate change. He wrote that he would treat the Pope the same way he believes "leftist politicians" should be treated.[66] Gosar accused Francis of having "adopted all of the socialist talking points, wrapped false science and ideology into 'climate justice' and is being presented to guilt people into leftist policies."[67] He called climate science "questionable" and criticized Laudato si', Francis's encyclical on the environment.[66]

Gosar did not attend Francis's September 24 address, the only member of Congress not to do so.[68][69] Shortly after Francis's visit, Gosar used his opposition to Francis's addresses as a fundraising tool.[68][69] A fundraising email for Gosar used his Townhall.com op-ed's catchphrase, "When the Pope chooses to act and talk like a leftist politician, then he can expect to be treated like one",[7] and positioned Gosar as the victim of "unprecedented attacks" from "the liberals, the left-wing media and the Obama political machine."[69]

Gosar received an "F" grade from marijuana legalization advocacy group NORML.[70]

Gosar voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[71]

In 2015, Gosar scored 3% on the National Environmental Scorecard of the League of Conservation Voters, in part because he is a global warming denier. On January 30, 2017, he introduced House Joint resolution 46, which would repeal the authority of the National Park Service to decline private drilling for oil, gas and minerals in 40 U.S. National Parks if the Park Service determines that the mining operation would threaten the environment. The Washington Post said Gosar was "no friend of environmentalists."[72][73][74]

In September 2015, Gosar submitted articles of impeachment against EPA administrator Gina McCarthy, asserting that she had committed "high crimes and misdemeanors" and "lied to the American people in order to force misguided and overreaching regulations, which have no scientific basis, down our throats."[75] An EPA spokeswoman said Gosar's resolution "has zero merit and is nothing more than political theater" while fellow Republican and House majority leader Kevin McCarthy confirmed that "There's no plan to impeach Gina McCarthy."[76]

In 2019, Gosar signed a letter led by Representative Ro Khanna and Senator Rand Paul to President Trump asserting that it is "long past time to rein in the use of force that goes beyond congressional authorization" and that they hoped this would "serve as a model for ending hostilities in the future—in particular, as you and your administration seek a political solution to our involvement in Afghanistan.”[77][78]

Gosar has stated that the "Second Amendment is one of the most important rights set forth by the Bill of Rights" and that he will "continue to oppose efforts to restrict, infringe, or remove this constitutionally protected right."[79] He was endorsed by the NRA (National Rifle Association) and given a rating of 92%. He was also endorsed by Gun Owners of America and given a rating of 75%.[80]

Gosar opposed Obamacare and monopolies and has advocated for physician-owned hospitals. He favors consumer choice of doctors, types of care and insurance plans.[81]

He was given an "A" rating by NumbersUSA, an anti-immigration organization that seeks to reduce illegal immigration.[82]

The Arizona Republic described Gosar as "one of the staunchest opponents in Congress to legalizing undocumented dreamers".[83] Gosar stated, "I strongly believe we need to immediately secure our border and oppose amnesty for anyone who blatantly violates our law."[84] He has cosponsored legislation to repeal the 14th Amendment, thus eliminating birthright citizenship for children born in the US to undocumented immigrants.[85][86] In a May 2018 interview he accused immigration attorneys providing legal advice to undocumented immigrants of committing a crime: "What we need to do is also hold those that are actually helping — what they're saying is help, but assisting in a crime — to be prosecuted as well."[87]

Gosar supported the building of the Mexico-U.S. border wall propounded by President Trump. Gosar believes it will help stop MS-13 gang activity in the United States.[88]

In 2019, Gosar sought to reinstate Representative Steve King to the House committees from which King had been removed due to a series of racist remarks.[89]

In April 2014, Gosar joined a group of five conservative Arizona state legislators at the Bundy Standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, where grazing fee resistors and their supporters took up arms against Federal Bureau of Land Management and law enforcement officials.[90] The confrontation ended when federal officials chose not to take further action.

In December 2014, Gosar drew controversy when he referred to American Indians as "wards of the federal government". He was responding to concerns from members of the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in eastern Arizona when he made the comment at the round-table talk in Flagstaff. The discussion had addressed the proposal to swap 2,400 acres of southeastern Arizona's Tonto National Forest for about 5,300 acres of environmentally sensitive land. The proposal, which was attached as a rider to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act, would give land sacred to the Apache in Arizona to Resolution Copper Mine, a joint venture owned by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. Troy Eid, a Republican and former U.S. Attorney in Colorado, responded to Gosar's comments, "In the heated context of what this represents, it's especially inappropriate to be resorting to what amounts to race baiting." A Gosar spokesperson said his comments were misconstrued.[91]

In July 2018, Gosar spoke at a rally in London in support of former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson, emphasizing the importance of the right to free speech.[92] Gosar and six other congressmen invited Robinson to speak to the Conservative Opportunity Society on November 14, 2018, while he was visiting the United States on a trip sponsored by the Middle East Forum and the David Horowitz Freedom Center.[93]

In February 2018, Gosar posted on his Facebook page that the Nunes memo showed "clear and convincing evidence" that certain members of the FBI and Justice Department committed treason.[94][95] He also specifically said conduct by James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Sally Yates and Rod Rosenstein was "not just criminal but constitutes treason." In what Gosar referred to as "My full statement on the declassified memo", he said he would be "leading [sic] a letter to the Attorney General seeking criminal prosecution against these traitors to our nation."

Paul Gosar with Donald Trump in 2019

In an October 2017 interview with Vice News, Gosar suggested that the white nationalist Unite the Right rally had been "created by the left", an idea previously expressed by Alex Jones of Infowars, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), Dinesh D’Souza, and others.[96] Gosar also suggested that Jason Kessler, the organizer of the Charlottesville rally, may have been backed by George Soros, who he described as having "turned in his own people to the Nazis".[97] Seven of Gosar's siblings wrote an open letter to the Kingman (Arizona) Daily Miner newspaper denouncing Gosar's claims about Soros as "despicable slander...without a shred of truth", saying the congressman "owes George Soros a personal apology."[98]

On January 29, 2021, the New York Times detailed Gosar's support for and past ties with extremist militia groups, including the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, some of whose members participated in the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.[99] When asked at an Oath Keepers meeting whether the United States was headed for civil war, Gosar replied, "We’re in it. We just haven’t started shooting at each other yet." His brother has said, "He’s been involved with anti-Muslim groups and hate groups. He’s made anti-Semitic diatribes. He’s twisted up so tight with the Oath Keepers it’s not even funny."