Congressional hopeful Clint Smith || Campaign website
By Tara Kavaler || Arizona Republic
Like incumbent Rep. Andy Biggs, Clint Smith is a white member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with conservative roots.
But Smith, an independent candidate, is making clear that he is different than his Republican opponent in Arizona’s 5th Congressional District.
Smith, 65, of Mesa, consistently favors a small bureaucracy approach to politics, including on the issue of abortion rights.
Smith does not buy into the MAGA view on illegal immigration or “Stop the Steal,” the discredited theory that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election because of widespread voting fraud. He also advocates for gun violence protection laws, such as reinstituting the ban on assault weapons.
The 5th Congressional District contains sections of Maricopa and Pinal Counties, including parts of Gilbert and Apache Junction. Smith is the only independent candidate running for Congress in Arizona. In addition to Biggs, Smith will face Democrat Javier Ramos in the Nov. 8 general election.
Smith has been conservative since undergrad at Brigham Young University, a viewpoint he describes, among other things, as the “the less interference we have from government, the better.”
