Thomas Ray "T. J." Shope Jr. (born August 12, 1985) is an American Republican politician and businessman who has been a member of the

Arizona 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 s ...

from the 16th Legislative District, which covers central and eastern

Pinal County Pinal County is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was est ...

and southern

Gila County Gila County ( ) is a county in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,272. The county seat is Globe. Gila County comprises the Payson, Arizona micropolitan statistical area which is incl ...

. First elected to 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 ...

in 2012, he was a member of the House from January 2013 to January 2021; in the latter part of his time in the state House, he was Speaker Pro Tempore. Shope was elected to the

Arizona State 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 ...

in November 2020, and took office in January 2021.

Early life

Shope was born in Florence, Arizona, in 1985, to Thomas "Tom" Shope Sr. and Luz Shope and resides in Coolidge, Arizona. A third-generation elected official, Shope's father was a former mayor of Coolidge, and his grandfather was a member of the city council.Bryan Bender
In the wilds of Arizona, a hunt for bipartisanship
''Politico'' (November 28, 2020). Shope's family owned a grocery store in Coolidge for over 70 years. He received his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

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 ...

in 2008.Hank Stephenson
Fresh faces: Legislature will welcome near record number of newcomers
(''Arizona Capitol Times'' November 20, 2012).

Political career

Shope was a member of a local

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

before seeking election to the

as a Republican. He was first elected to the state House in 2012, at age 27, from the 8th Legislative District. Shope's district is heavily rural and Republican-dominated; it encompasses parts of Gila and Pinal counties,State of Arizona Official Canvass - 2020 General Election, November 3, 2020
Arizona Secretary of State. specifically Coolidge,

Globe A globe is a spherical Earth, spherical Model#Physical model, model of Earth, of some other astronomical object, celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but, unlike maps, they do not distort the surface ...

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, San Tan Valley, and portions of Casa Grande and Eloy. He was reelected to the House in 2014, 2016, and 2018. Shope was speaker pro tempore of the state House. In 2013–14, after initially taking a neutral position on

Medicaid expansion Under the public healthcare policy of the United States, some people have incomes too high to qualify in their state of residence for Medicaid, the public health insurance plan for those with limited resources, but too low to qualify for the pr ...

under the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

, Shope became one of a handful of Republicans who joined Democrats in supporting Medicaid expansion (which extended health-care coverage to more low-income Arizonans). Medicaid expansion was supported by Governor

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015, as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Prior to this, Brewer ...

, but opposed by most Republican officials and right-wing activists. In 2019, Shope sponsored legislation that repealed a 1991 state law barring

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

instruction that "promotes a homosexual lifestyle" or "portrays homosexuality as a positive alternative lifestyle"; Shope said that the language was antiquated. The repeal passed the Senate on a 19–10 vote and the House on a 55–5 vote. Shope sponsored a measure in 2019, supported by 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 ...

, to amend the Arizona State Constitution to repeal its provision for legislative immunity during and before the state legislative session; however, the bill was blocked by Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers. In 2020, Shope was elected to the

seat from the 8th Legislative District, defeating Democratic nominee Barbara McGuire. In September 2020, ahead of the November 2020 presidential election, Shope endorsed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and appeared at a Trump rally in Arizona. In December 2020, amid acrimonious infighting among Arizona Republicans about Trump's efforts to overturn his defeat in the election, Shope said that he supported Trump while simultaneously saying that a Republican turn to the

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

would lead to the nomination of unelectable candidates who would repulse moderate voters. In 2021, amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Arizona in January 2020. As of June 3, 2021 Arizona public health authorities reported 322 new cases of COVID-19 and five deaths, bringing the cumulative totals since the st ...

, Shope opposed an

policy that required students who had not been vaccinated against COVID-19 to comply with

CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and is headquartered in Atlanta, ...

public health recommendations by taking twice-weekly COVID-19 tests and using face masks.Bob Christie
Ducey blocks ASU policy requiring masks for unvaccinated
Associated Press (June 15, 2021). (Republican governor Ducey subsequently issued an executive order blocking the ASU policy.) However, Shope sided with all Senate Democrats in opposing a bill, sponsored by Senate Republican Bret Roberts, to make it a crime for businesses to decline to serve customers who lacked proof of vaccination, and would authorize the state to shut down such businesses. Shope said he believed the proposal went too far and unfairly restricted the rights of private business owners. Following the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justi ...

's decision to reinstate an 1864

Territorial A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

abortion law Abortion laws vary widely among countries and territories, and have changed over time. Such laws range from abortion being freely available on request, to regulation or restrictions of various kinds, to outright prohibition in all circumstances ...

that banned nearly all abortions without exceptions for rape and incest, Shope and Senator Shawnna Bolick were the first two legislative Republicans to call for its repeal. On May 1, 2024, Shope and Bolick voted with all Democrats in the State Senate 16–14 to repeal the ban, one week after the State House voted 32–28 too.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Shope, Thomas 1985 births American politicians of Mexican descent Central Arizona College alumni Arizona State University alumni Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Arizona Living people People from Florence, Arizona People from Coolidge, Arizona Republican Party members of the Arizona House of Representatives School board members in Arizona Republican Party Arizona state senators 21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature