Steven Jeffrey Gaynor is an American businessman and political candidate in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. He ran for

Secretary of State of Arizona The secretary of state of Arizona is an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona. Since Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, the secretary stands first in the line of succession to the governorship. The secretary also serves as act ...

in 2018, and won the

Arizona Republican Party The Arizona Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the US state of Arizona. Its headquarters are in Phoenix. The party currently controls six of Arizona's nine U.S. House seats, seventeen of thirty State Senate seats, thi ...

nomination, but narrowly lost the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

to Democrat

Katie Hobbs Kathleen Marie Hobbs (born December 28, 1969) is an American politician serving since 2023 as the 24th governor of Arizona. A member of the Democratic Party, she was secretary of state of Arizona from 2019 to 2023 and a member of the Arizona Le ...

. Gaynor was a candidate in the Republican primary for the

2022 Arizona gubernatorial election The 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 2022, to elect the next governor of Arizona, concurrently with other federal and state elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Doug Ducey was term-limited and ineligible t ...

before he withdrew from the race in April 2022.

Early life and education

Gaynor is originally from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. He graduated with an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

. Gaynor is Jewish.

Business career

Gaynor moved to Arizona in 1981 and purchased a small printing company which he grew to employ 350 people by 2007. In 2014 his printing company paid $134,000 to settle claims of underpaid workers.

Political career

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

he ran as the

for

, defeating Michelle Reagan for the nomination. He lost the

narrowly to the Democratic candidate

. The race was so close that numerous media outlets, including the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

, reported Gaynor as the winner. Gaynor ultimately conceded to Hobbs 11 days after the election. In 2019 Gaynor founded of Fair Maps Arizona, a 501(c)(4) organization that has supported Republican political efforts in Arizona. On June 25, 2021, Gaynor declared his candidacy for the

as a Republican.

Political positions

Gaynor has been described as a social and fiscal conservative. He is reportedly

pro-life Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in response to the lega ...

, and is a lifetime member of the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Gaynor is married to his wife Dorothy, who he met while studying at Harvard. Together they have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaynor, Steve American businesspeople American political candidates Harvard Business School alumni Jewish American people in Arizona politics Living people 1955 births