Michele Reagan

Early life

A native of Rockford, Illinois and a graduate of Illinois State University she first moved to Arizona in 1991 with her family and opened a FASTSIGNS.

Reagan graduated from Illinois State University and was named by the Aspen Institute to its Rodel Fellowship, a program designed to bring together elected officials who have demonstrated an outstanding ability to work responsibly across partisan divisions and bring greater civility to public discourse.

Career

Reagan was first elected to the Arizona State House in 2002. She was first elected to the Arizona State Senate in 2010. She was named Chair of the Commerce Committee in the House, and later, Chair of the Economic Development and Jobs Creation Committee in the Senate. Michele Reagan also contributed to the formation of the first Senate Elections Committee, of which she served as Committee Chair. Michele Reagan was elected to serve as Arizona's 20th Secretary of State in 2014.

Reagan voted in support of a bill that was referred as the “birther bill” in 2011, which required candidates to prove their citizenship to the secretary of state of Arizona, and bill 1062, a controversial religious freedom bill that was vetoed by Governor Jan Brewer.

Reagan has earned her numerous awards and accolades including: Small Business Guardian from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Eye of the Eagle award from the Arizona Small Business Association and the Best Legislator in 2008 from the Arizona Capitol Times. Additionally, she was named one of the 50 most Influential Women in Arizona by AZBusiness Magazine in 2013.

Political positions

Michele Reagan has been rated 80% by the American Conservative Union. However, she was given a score of 47% by the conservative Goldwater Institute. In 2010, Reagan was rated 38% by the conservative Americans for Prosperity and was rated 63% in 2014. She was endorsed by the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.

In 2012, she was rated 60% by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and 50% by NARAL/Arizona Right to Choose indicating a mixed record on abortion, but was rated 0% by Planned Parenthood in 2014 indicating a pro-life record in that year. In 2016, Reagan was rated 67% by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona once again indicating a mixed record on abortion.

Concerning LGBT issues, Reagan was rated 0% by Stonewall Democrats of Arizona, a partisan Democratic group which rates politicians' positions on LGBT issues. However, after same-sex marriage was legalized in Arizona, Reagan said that "[it] should be a proud day for Arizona as we celebrate equality." In 2015, she was rated 79% by the National Rifle Association.

In 2016, Reagan proposed a bill in the Arizona Legislature ostensibly simplify elections, which would allow dark money groups to spend twice as much money on ballot measures as legally allowed, and allow nonprofit groups to spend more on elections. After the Trump administration requested that states provide voter information for a commission on voter fraud, Michele Reagan "said [on July 3] she is rejecting the Trump administration's request for extensive voter information, saying it isn't in the state's best interest."

Controversy

In 2016 Reagan came under scrutiny for failing to mail out as many as a half million publicity pamphlets as required by Arizona law in connection with an election, an investigation which is ongoing.

Personal life

Michele Reagan and her husband, David, currently reside in Scottsdale. She has no relation to the family of Ronald Reagan.