A Republican Party primary took place on August 2, 2022, in Arizona's 4th Congressional District to determine which Republican candidate would run in the district's general election on November 8, 2022.

Kelly Cooper advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 4.

Candidate filing deadline	Primary election	General election
April 4, 2022	August 2, 2022	November 8, 2022

Kelly Cooper, Jerone Davison, Dave Giles, Rene Lopez, and Tanya Wheeless ran . All five candidates completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, and the information below is based on their responses. To read their survey responses in full, click here.

At the time of the primary, Cooper was a restaurant owner and former marine. Cooper focused on the economy, immigration, and education. On immigration, Cooper said, "We must stop the mass caravans that are crossing over into our country illegally and unchecked and advocate for our law enforcement officials to return to their primary function of stopping these dangerous elements from disregarding our borders and entering our country illegally."

At the time of the primary, Davison was a pastor and former NFL player. Davison cited border security, the economy, and election integrity as top issues. On the economy, Davison said he "will help to induce a strong economy that brings jobs to Arizona by voting against the tyranny of mandates, support the entrepreneur and small business with lower tax opportunities and incentives for employing the unemployed."

Giles, an electrical engineer, was the Republican nominee for Arizona's 9th district in 2020. Giles lost to incumbent Greg Stanton (D) 61.6% to 38.4%. Giles said he supported reducing taxes, finishing the border wall, and getting "the government out of state and local affairs."

Lopez, a U.S. Navy veteran, was elected to the Chandler City Council in 2014. Lopez highlighted economic development, immigration, and fiscal responsibility. On economic development, Lopez said, "My top priority is to empower job creators and create an environment where small businesses can grow and thrive. We achieve that goal by keeping government out of the private sector and reducing burdensome regulations and obstacles to entrepreneurship."

Wheeless, a businesswoman and the former Deputy Chief of Staff to former Sen. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), focused on economic and security issues. On security, Wheeless said, "We must have a safe and secure country. That means supporting our military to ensure peace through strength and defending law enforcement not defunding it."^[1]

This page focuses on Arizona's 4th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 4

Kelly Cooper defeated Tanya Wheeless, Dave Giles, Rene Lopez, and Jerone Davison in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 4 on August 2, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Kelly Cooper	28.4	20,281
	Tanya Wheeless	25.4	18,166
	Dave Giles	18.7	13,348
	Rene Lopez	14.2	10,149
	Jerone Davison	13.3	9,502

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,446
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Brandon DeHart (R)
Alex Stovall (R)

Candidate comparison

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Kelly Cooper

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Raised by a single mom, Kelly and his sister moved frequently as a child. His mother struggled to move into a great school district, ensuring the opportunity for Kelly and his sister to receive a quality education. His mom’s sacrifice and dedication to her kids helped shape Kelly and make him the man he is today. After graduating from high school, Kelly joined the United States Marine Corps in 1993 While on alpha increment air alert, his unit deployed to Cuba in 1995, his unit was also deployed to Okinawa, Japan, and South Korea. In 1996 he served on the LST USS La Moure County (LST-1194) during UNITAS 96. This was a South American tour and relations mission. Seeing every Country in South and Central America broadened Kelly’s knowledge base and interpersonal skills. After his honorable discharge from the Marines Kelly began his transition back into civilian life as a bartender. Developing his career skills he moved up to managing several restaurants in the Midwest and East Coast. Kelly relocated to Chandler, AZ in 2003. He continued to grow in the restaurant business and today is an owner of two Melting Pot Franchises and his own concept, BKD’s Backyard Joint in Chandler. Kelly is a dedicated community leader, and is the founder and chairman for the Maricopa County Republican Veterans Committee. His partnership with community groups and fundraising through his businesses has helped Kelly to identify the needs of our community and where needed feed that information for help"

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

The Economy - is on the brink. Our current Democrat representatives have been a rubber stamp for the Biden administration. Encouraging people to stay home with ‘free money’ has been one of the many factors leading to today’s weak economy. We must stop subsidizing the destruction of the free market and return our economy to work. With an extraordinary number of people unemployed and near as many open jobs it no longer makes sense.

Border Control/Immigration - There’s an overwhelming flood of people from all over the world attempting to cross our borders. Many of these individuals get taken advantage of with the specific purpose of overwhelming the border protection agencies. Fentanyl and other lethally dangerous drugs are being smuggled across the border to the detriment and devastation of the health and wellbeing of our society. We must stop the mass caravans that are crossing over into our country illegally and unchecked and advocate for our law enforcement officials to return to their primary function of stopping these dangerous elements from disregarding our borders and entering our country illegally.

Education - School choice helps to create an environment of competition and diversity of education. I believe that competition is the foundation of success and excellence. The removal of competition creates consolidation and can lead to stagnation and mediocrity. Our children, and by extension our future deserve the absolute best we can offer. Any system that is not willing to compete for your participation or patronage is a system destined for failure. We must remove the federal government from education. We must also work to support and expand school choice.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 4 in 2022.

Jerone Davison

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "My name is Jerone Davison I am a former Arizona State SunDevil Running Back and former NFL Fullback Oakland Raiders and the San Fransisco 49ers. I am currently a pastor and itinerant preacher and Author. I am running for U.S Congress in District 9 (Tempe, Mesa, Ahwatukee, Chandler, and Scottsdale). I will secure the border by voting to complete the wall which drastically slows the flow of deadly drugs, human trafficking, and crime from entering our State. I will support Equal Rights by voting against special privileges for race, sex, and or ethnicity because we all have equal rights under the Constitution. I will help to induce a strong economy that brings jobs to Arizona by voting against the tyranny of mandates and illegal immigrates who take lower pay and jobs from Arizonans. I will vote to protect and secure our elections by supporting paper ballots, forensic audits, recounts, and tougher penalties for voter fraud. I will stand with God and humanity and vote for life in the womb at conception. info@jeroneforcongress.com"

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

BORDER SECURITY - Jerone will secure the border by voting to complete the wall because walls work.

ECONOMY/JOBS - Jerone will help to induce a strong economy that brings jobs to Arizona by voting against the tyranny of mandates, support the entrepreneur and small business with lower tax opportunities and incentives for employing the unemployed.

ELECTION INTEGRITY - Jerone will vote to protect and secure our elections by supporting paper ballots, forensic audits, recounts, and tougher penalties for voter fraud.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 4 in 2022.

Dave Giles

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Dave has Earned: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering – Rochester Institute of Technology Master of Business Administration (MBA) – Drexel University Commercial Instrument Pilot (Land & Sea) and the Citation Jet CE500 Type Rating Master of Arts in Theology – Living Word University and Life Christian University Multiple Technical Certifications from Novell, Microsoft, and Institute of Industrial Research Rescue Diver Certification – Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Federal Firearms License (FFL07) Dealer – Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) Other Experiences: Life Member—National Rifle Association (NRA) Member—Sons of American Legion Member—American Legion Riders Member—Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Member—Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Member—Society of Information Management (SIM) Member—Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Past Windsurfing Fleet Captain—Aramco Saudi Arabia Volunteer at Living Word Bible Church Past Volunteer for Congressman Matt Salmon Volunteer for Gilbert American Legion Post 39 "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

America and Americans First

Stop / Reduce Federal Government over-reach & Reduce Taxes

Increase American's economic well being

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 4 in 2022.

Rene Lopez

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "HUMBLE BEGINNINGS: Rene is a third-generation Arizonan born and raised in Mesa (in District) growing up in a traditional working family. His father worked as a miner and heavy mechanic welder. Rene graduated from Dobson High School and went on to graduate with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Arizona, the first in his extended family to graduate college. U.S. NAVY: Rene earned a Commission through ROTC for the U.S. Navy in 1995 and served as a Cryptologic Naval Officer stationed at Ft. Meade, MD. Rene is a third-generation Navy veteran, with his father serving in Vietnam, and his maternal grandfather serving in WWII. SERVING OUR COMMUNITY Upon moving back to the East Valley in 2007, he became involved with the Republican Party, working up to Legislative District Chairman and Second Vice Chair of the County Executive Guidance Committee. After serving on Chandler Parks and Recreation committee, he was elected to the City Council in 2014, re-elected in 2018 and has served as Vice Mayor of Chandler, twice. GIVING BACK In 2017, Rene co-founded Cece’s Hope Center, where he serves as Chairman. Cece’s Hope Center is a non-profit based in Chandler that helps young women rescued from sex-trafficking. FAMILY Rene lives in Chandler with his wife, Jessica, of 25 years. Their daughter, Brianna, is a graduate of Arizona State University, now working towards her PhD at Johns Hopkins University. Their son, Andrew, currently attends the University of Arizona. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & JOB CREATION My top priority is to empower job creators and create an environment where small businesses can grow and thrive. We achieve that goal by keeping government out of the private sector and reducing burdensome regulations and obstacles to entrepreneurship.

BORDER SECURITY & IMMIGRATION We need to get serious about the crisis at our Border. The Biden/Harris administration and the Democrats in Congress have neglected border security entirely and put our country at risk. While I support legal immigration and encourage those who are coming to the United States to pursue the American Dream, we cannot ignore the security of our border to accomplish that mission.

FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY The most important aspect about being a local leader and government official is that I’m a steward of taxpayer dollars. It’s not the government’s money we allocate to budgets, it’s your hard-earned tax dollars. We owe it to our constituents to use that money wisely and as conservatively as possible.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 4 in 2022.

Tanya Wheeless

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Tanya is ready to bring her experience and thoughtful leadership to Congress. She believes in the promise of the American dream and will fight to preserve it. She will embrace policies that empower people, not the government. And, she will always put Arizona first."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Tanya is fresh voice for Arizona and she will work tirelessly to preserve the American Dream.

We must have a safe and secure country. That means supporting our military to ensure peace through strength and defending law enforcement not defunding it.

Tanya will protect our freedoms and fight for economic policies that spur job creation and innovation.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Arizona District 4 in 2022.

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Kelly Cooper (R)

The Economy - is on the brink. Our current Democrat representatives have been a rubber stamp for the Biden administration. Encouraging people to stay home with ‘free money’ has been one of the many factors leading to today’s weak economy. We must stop subsidizing the destruction of the free market and return our economy to work. With an extraordinary number of people unemployed and near as many open jobs it no longer makes sense.

Border Control/Immigration - There’s an overwhelming flood of people from all over the world attempting to cross our borders. Many of these individuals get taken advantage of with the specific purpose of overwhelming the border protection agencies. Fentanyl and other lethally dangerous drugs are being smuggled across the border to the detriment and devastation of the health and wellbeing of our society. We must stop the mass caravans that are crossing over into our country illegally and unchecked and advocate for our law enforcement officials to return to their primary function of stopping these dangerous elements from disregarding our borders and entering our country illegally.

Education - School choice helps to create an environment of competition and diversity of education. I believe that competition is the foundation of success and excellence. The removal of competition creates consolidation and can lead to stagnation and mediocrity. Our children, and by extension our future deserve the absolute best we can offer. Any system that is not willing to compete for your participation or patronage is a system destined for failure. We must remove the federal government from education. We must also work to support and expand school choice.

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/JeroneDavison2024.jpeg

Jerone Davison (R)

BORDER SECURITY - Jerone will secure the border by voting to complete the wall because walls work.

ECONOMY/JOBS - Jerone will help to induce a strong economy that brings jobs to Arizona by voting against the tyranny of mandates, support the entrepreneur and small business with lower tax opportunities and incentives for employing the unemployed.

ELECTION INTEGRITY - Jerone will vote to protect and secure our elections by supporting paper ballots, forensic audits, recounts, and tougher penalties for voter fraud.

U.S. Congress campaign reporting schedule, 2022
Report	Close of books	Filing deadline
Year-end 2021	12/31/2021	1/31/2022
April quarterly	3/31/2022	4/15/2022
July quarterly	6/30/2022	7/15/2022
October quarterly	9/30/2022	10/15/2022
Pre-general	10/19/2022	10/27/2022
Post-general	11/28/2022	12/08/2022
Year-end 2022	12/31/2022	1/31/2023

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Kelly Cooper	Republican Party	$2,342,077	$2,283,333	$58,744	As of December 31, 2022
Jerone Davison	Republican Party	$150,263	$150,263	$0	As of December 31, 2022
Dave Giles	Republican Party	$83,800	$84,346	$0	As of December 31, 2022
Rene Lopez	Republican Party	$177,180	$172,699	$0	As of December 31, 2022
Tanya Wheeless	Republican Party	$1,285,979	$1,285,879	$100	As of November 28, 2022
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2022. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2022
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Arizona	U.S. House	Democratic	1,563^[4]	N/A	4/4/2022	Source
Arizona	U.S. House	Republican	1,639^[5]	N/A	4/4/2022	Source
Arizona	U.S. House	Libertarian	826^[6]	N/A	4/4/2022	Source
Arizona	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	4,832^[7]	N/A	4/4/2022	Source

2020 presidential results by Congressional district, Arizona
District	2022 district		Political predecessor district
District	Joe Biden	Donald Trump	Joe Biden	Donald Trump
Arizona's 1st	50.1%	48.6%	47.3%	51.4%
Arizona's 2nd	45.3%	53.2%	50.1%	48.4%
Arizona's 3rd	74.5%	23.9%	73.7%	24.7%
Arizona's 4th	54.2%	43.9%	60.8%	37.3%
Arizona's 5th	41.0%	57.4%	41.9%	56.4%
Arizona's 6th	49.3%	49.2%	54.5%	43.9%
Arizona's 7th	65.6%	32.9%	62.8%	35.7%
Arizona's 8th	42.5%	56.1%	41.4%	57.3%
Arizona's 9th	36.4%	62.2%	30.6%	68.0%

Demographic Data for Arizona
	Arizona	United States
Population	7,151,502	331,449,281
Land area (sq mi)	113,654	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White	73.8%	70.4%
Black/African American	4.5%	12.6%
Asian	3.3%	5.6%
Native American	4.3%	0.8%
Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%
Other (single race)	6.9%	5.1%
Multiple	7%	5.2%
Hispanic/Latino	31.5%	18.2%
Education
High school graduation rate	87.9%	88.5%
College graduation rate	30.3%	32.9%
Income
Median household income	$61,529	$64,994
Persons below poverty level	14.1%	12.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2015-2020).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Arizona, November 2022
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	2	5	7
Republican	0	4	4
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	9	11

State executive officials in Arizona, November 2022
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Doug Ducey
Secretary of State	Katie Hobbs
Attorney General	Mark Brnovich

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	S	S	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Arizona's 4th Congressional District
2024 → ← 2020

Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: April 4, 2022
Primary: August 2, 2022 General: November 8, 2022
How to vote
Poll times: 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voting in Arizona
Race ratings
Cook Partisan Voter Index (2022): D+2 Cook Political Report: Likely Democratic Inside Elections: Likely Democratic Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2022
See also
Arizona's 4th Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th Arizona elections, 2022 U.S. Congress elections, 2022 U.S. Senate elections, 2022 U.S. House elections, 2022

Arizona's 4th Congressional District election, 2022 (August 2 Republican primary)

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Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 4

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