Senate Member

Senator Steve Montenegro was first elected to the Arizona Legislature in November of 2008. He served in the House of Representatives until January 2017, holding several positions including Speaker Pro-Tempore, Committee Chairman, and House Majority Leader for the 52nd Legislature (2015-2016). He is currently in his first term of the Arizona Senate. He is the Vice-Chair of the Education Committee and serves on the Appropriations and Health and Human Services Committees.

An award-winning champion of families, taxpayers, and our Constitutional liberties, Steve continues to focus on issues including education, government transparency, protecting our Second Amendment rights, agriculture, water, border security, fiscal responsibility, and taking care of our veterans and military presence here in Arizona. He was the Primary Sponsor of the American Civics Act requiring Arizona’s High School students to pass the same civics test required of newly naturalized citizens, and was awarded Legislator of the Year by the Arizona Republican Party in 2015.

Mr. Montenegro arrived in the U.S. from El Salvador when he was five when his family legally immigrated to the United States.

He is a District Representative in the office of Congressman Trent Franks and serves as an Assistant Pastor at Surprise Apostolic Church in Surprise, AZ. He was previously a teacher at Arizona Charter Academy and Superior School in Surprise, Arizona.

He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and also holds an Associate of Arts in Theology. Senator Montenegro interrupted his studies toward a law degree for this opportunity at public service.

He spent five years as President of the Arizona Messengers of Peace and spent 10 years on the National Board for the National Messengers of Peace. He has served on the advisory boards for GOPAC, Arizona Charter Academy and the RSLC Future Majority Project. And he is currently a trustee of Arizona Christian University.

He and his wife Melissa were married in 2009 and have a little girl, Adelynn. On those rare occasions where he has some free time, he enjoys reading, playing the piano, golf, and running.