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United States House of Representatives
Michelle Ugenti-Rita
U.S. Representative AZ-01 (NEVER FILED — declined AZ-01 bid; endorsed Joseph Chaplik for the seat; pivoted to Scottsdale City Council 2026 race; previously AZ State Sen LD-23 2019-2023, AZ State House 2011-2019, lost 2022 R primary for AZ SoS to Mark Finchem, lost 2024 R primary for Maricopa BoS)
Republican
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
100
/ 100
A
Raw: 10 of 10 dynamic max
· 5 of 30 answered
Local tier30 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · from claim evidence
✝ God First
10/ 70
🏛️ Local First
0/ 30
National Rank
#4,577 of 8,966 · bottom 49.0% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
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Next Election
July 21, 2026
Primary · Seat up at next election
— until
Official Profile
Background: b. June 28 1980, Scottsdale AZ. BA Business Administration, Arizona State University 2003. AZ House LD-8 (2011-2013), AZ House LD-23 (2013-2019), AZ Senate LD-23 (2019-2023). Lost 2022 R primary AZ SoS (to Mark Finchem). Lost 2024 R primary Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Currently running 2026 Scottsdale City Council. Married Joe Rita.
STATUS FIX (2026-06-02): NEVER FILED for 2026 AZ-01. Wikipedia 2026 AZ House elections page lists her as 'Declined' AZ-01; endorsed Joseph Chaplik. Pivoted to Scottsdale City Council 2026 (8 candidates, 3 seats; Q1 2026 fundraising leader $38,759). Status flipped to former — leaves federal queue. Modest federal-tier evidence from AZ Senate/House record (HARD): sanctity_of_life q0 TRUE (Wikipedia: 'Human life begins at conception'; Planned Parenthood AZ 2012 0% rating); sanctity q4 TRUE (PP AZ 0% — no PP funding); election_integrity q1 TRUE (sponsored SB 1485 Permanent Early Voting List inactive-voter purge — Ducey signed 2021; sponsored mail-in voter ID requirement 2021); election q3 TRUE (mail-in voter ID + early-vote restriction sponsorship). DEVIATIONS noted (don't map to federal cells): 2017 ONLY R to vote NO on Blue Lives Matter bill (anti-LEO-special-penalty — but federal rubric has no police cell); publicly attacked 2021 Cyber Ninjas audit as 'botched,' booed at Trump rally July 2021, Trump endorsed her SoS primary opponent — independent/anti-MAGA-audit R. NULL on marriage/family/christian_liberty/economic/border/self_defense/foreign_policy_restraint/industry_capture — no documented federal-cell positions located. Refer to AZ Scottsdale City Council 2026 race for active candidacy tracking. Religion unknown.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
1 claim
In voter-guide questionnaire responses, stated: 'Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.' Also expressed support for the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which requires life-saving care for infants born alive during attempted abortions.
- Vote Smart — Just FactsReference
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
Candidate (if District Attorney) has committed to prosecuting illegal abortion procedures; (if mayor/council) has supported pro-life city resolutions or refused to declare 'sanctuary city for abortion'
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing
Not yet verified
Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding
TRUE (+2)[2]
1 claim
On record stating that abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not receive taxpayer funds or grants from federal, state, or local governments — opposing the public financing of abortion-industry organizations.
- Vote Smart — Just FactsReference
- iVoterGuideRight Advocacy
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city/county trans-affirming policies (bathroom mandates on private businesses, Pride flag raisings at city hall, pronouns-required HR rules)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city/county Pride proclamations, Pride flags at city facilities, drag programming in libraries, and LGBT-affirming K-12 curriculum (school-board-relevant)
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) opts the district into school-choice transfers + protects homeschool freedom + opposes truancy-based criminal referrals
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) requires parental notification before any gender/sexuality counseling of minors; (mayor/council) opposes city programs facilitating minor medical procedures without parents
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) has voted to remove CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology materials from district curriculum and library shelves
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council/library board) supports local enforcement of age-verification + removes sexualized content from library children's sections
Not yet verified
Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
Not yet verified
Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county/school board) opposes mandatory pronoun policies for staff + employees + students
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) supports city/county Christian displays (Ten Commandments, Nativity scenes), invocation prayer at meetings, Sunday-closure where chosen by community
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city-funded non-Christian religious displays/programming (Ramadan illumination, etc.) at city facilities
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) opposes city participation in CBDC pilot programs + supports cash-acceptance ordinances for local businesses
Not yet verified
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) has voted against deficit-bond issuances for non-capital city expenditures + supports balanced city budgets without service cuts via tax increases on residents
Not yet verified
Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) has voted to remove city pension/treasury investment in ESG-aligned funds + opposes city participation in WEF-aligned sister-city programs
Not yet verified
Candidate (city clerk/county election official) supports hand-counted paper ballots at local precincts where state law permits
TRUE (+2)
1 claim
As an Arizona state legislator, chaired the House Committee on Elections and sponsored multiple election-integrity bills: (1) requiring Arizona mail-ballot voters to include government ID paperwork with their returned ballots; (2) purging registered voters from the early-ballot list if they had not cast an early ballot in two consecutive election cycles; and (3) restricting the process for citizen ballot initiatives — among the most active election-integrity legislators in Arizona's modern era.
- WikipediaEncyclopedia
- Vote Smart — Just FactsReference
Candidate (city clerk/election official) enforces state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at local precincts
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions
Not yet verified
Candidate (city clerk/council) refused acceptance of private election-administration grants ('Zuckerbucks')
Not yet verified
Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence
Not yet verified
Candidate (DA/sheriff) cooperates with ICE detainers + transfers; (mayor/council) supports local cooperation with ICE rather than sanctuary policies
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) has voted against local sanctuary-city ordinances + supports city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Not yet verified
Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) opposes local gun-registry ordinances + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/council) opposes local-ordinance red-flag/magazine/AWB analogs + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations
Not yet verified
Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation
Not yet verified
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
N/A · out of tier
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
N/A · out of tier
Official has asserted local control against unconstitutional state mandates
N/A · out of tier
Official has declined state strings that compel ungodly or unconstitutional local policy
N/A · out of tier
Official has protected local citizens from state overreach (lockdowns, mandates, ESG)
N/A · out of tier
Official affirms subsidiarity — decisions made at the lowest competent level
N/A · out of tier
Official has refused to enforce unconstitutional state directives
N/A · out of tier
Sources & Evidence
1 Lean Left1 Center1 Reference9 Other
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelle_Ugenti-RitaEncyclopedia
www.electmichelle.com/Unclassified
Vote Smart — Voting RecordReference
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]Wikipedia documented quote: 'Human life begins at conception'; supported AZ Born Alive Act; Planned Parenthood AZ 2012 0% rating — affirms life-from-conception Encyclopedia
Wikipedia documented quote: 'Human life begins at conception'; supported AZ Born Alive Act; Planned Parenthood AZ 2012 0% rating — affirms life-from-conception
- [2]Wikipedia documented quote: 'Human life begins at conception'; supported AZ Born Alive Act; Planned Parenthood AZ 2012 0% rating — affirms life-from-conception Reference
Wikipedia documented quote: 'Human life begins at conception'; supported AZ Born Alive Act; Planned Parenthood AZ 2012 0% rating — affirms life-from-conception
- [3]Sponsored SB 1485 (2021) Permanent Early Voting List inactive-voter purge — Ducey signed; also sponsored mail-in voter ID requirement 2021 — pro voter-ID + citizenship-verification posture Lean Left
Sponsored SB 1485 (2021) Permanent Early Voting List inactive-voter purge — Ducey signed; also sponsored mail-in voter ID requirement 2021 — pro voter-ID + citizenship-verification posture
- [4]Sponsored SB 1485 mail-in purge + 2019 restricted early-vote ballot casting at polling places + 2021 killed early-voting bill she had championed pending audit — opposes mass mail-in expansion Unclassified
Sponsored SB 1485 mail-in purge + 2019 restricted early-vote ballot casting at polling places + 2021 killed early-voting bill she had championed pending audit — opposes mass mail-in expansion
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