Justin Olson (born 1979) is an American politician who serves as a member of the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Arizona Senate, Senate. The House convenes in the le ...

. He previously was a member of the

Arizona Corporation Commission The Arizona Corporation Commission is the Public Utilities Commission of the Arizona, State of Arizona, established by Article 15 of the Constitution of Arizona, Arizona Constitution. Arizona is one of only fourteen states with elected commission ...

and also represented District 25 in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2013 until 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education

Olson was born in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 504,258 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Arizona, third-most populous city in Arizona, after Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, T ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Career

Olson is a tax analyst who worked for the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

. From 2011 to 2017, Olson served as a member of the

, representing the 19th and 25th districts. On October 17, 2017, Governor

Doug Ducey Douglas Anthony Ducey ( ; ; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 23rd List of governors of Arizona, governor of Arizona from 2015 to 2023 and as State Treas ...

appointed Olson to fill a vacancy on the

. He was elected to a full term in 2018. In October 2021, Olson declared his candidacy for the 2022 United States Senate election in Arizona. He lost the Republican primary to

Blake Masters Blake Gates Masters (born August 5, 1986) is an American venture capitalist, author, former political candidate, and conspiracy theorist. Often regarded as a protégé of businessman Peter Thiel, Sources that call Masters a protégé of Thiel i ...

. In 2024, he ran for and won a seat in the

Elections

* 2016: Olson ran in the Republican primary for

Arizona's 5th congressional district Arizona's 5th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona, currently represented by Republican Andy Biggs. The district contains Gilbert, Queen Creek, southern and eastern Chandler, and eastern ...

, losing to

Andy Biggs Andrew Steven Biggs (born November 7, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician who represents in the United States House of Representatives. The district, which was once represented by U.S. Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake, is in the he ...

. * 2014: Olson and Russell Bowers defeated Haydee Dawson, Michelle Udall and Jerry Walker in the Republican primary. Olson and Bowers defeated David Butler, Sheila Ogea, and Libertarian Michael Kielsky in the general election. * 2012: Redistricted to District 25, and with incumbent Republican Representatives Peggy Judd leaving the Legislature and David Stevens redistricted to District 14, Olson and Justin Pierce were unopposed in the August 28, 2012, Republican primary; Pierce placed first, and Olson placed second with 18,392 votes; Pierce and Olson won the three-way November 6, 2012, general election, with Pierce taking the first seat and Olson taking the second seat with 48,335 votes against Democratic nominee David Butler. * 2010: When incumbent Republican representative Rich Crandall ran for

Arizona Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figure ...

and left a District 19 seat open, Olson ran alongside incumbent representative Kirk Adams in the three-way August 24, 2010, Republican primary, placing first with 12,386 votes; in the three-way November 2, 2010, general election, Adams took the first seat, and Olson took the second seat with 31,583 votes against Democratic nominee Kit Filbey.

References

External links

Official page
at the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...

Campaign site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Justin 1958 births Arizona State University alumni Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections Living people Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives Politicians from Mesa, Arizona W. P. Carey School of Business alumni 21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature