Tom Forese
Tom Forese (Republican Party) was a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission. Forese assumed office on January 5, 2015. Forese left office on January 1, 2019.
Forese (Republican Party) ran for re-election to the Arizona Corporation Commission. Forese lost in the Republican primary on August 28, 2018.
The Arizona Corporation Commission is the state body charged with regulating the state's utility companies.[1]
Biography
Forese's professional experience includes working as the Director of Academic Affairs for Link-Systems International and President of FMG Partners. From 2011 until 2015, Forese served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, representing District 17 before being elected to the Arizona Corporation Commission in 2015.[2][3]
Political career
Arizona Corporation Commission (2015-2019)
Forese won election to the Arizona Corporation Commission in the general election on November 4, 2014.[3] He lost in the Republican primary on August 28, 2018.
Arizona House of Representatives (2011-2015)
Forese is a former Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives. He represented District 17 in the state House from 2011 to 2015.[2]
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Forese served on the following committees:[2]
| Arizona committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Commerce, Chair |
| • Government |
| • Capital Review |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Forese served on these committees:
| Arizona committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Appropriations |
| • Government |
| • Higher Education, Innovation and Reform, Vice Chair |
Issues
Presidential preference
2012
Tom Forese endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election.[4]
Medicaid expansion lawsuit
Tom Forese was one of the 36 Republican members of the Arizona State Legislature who signed onto a lawsuit brought by the Goldwater Institute in September 2013 against Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) over the expansion of Medicaid in Arizona under provisions of the Affordable Care Act.[5] Brewer announced her support for Medicaid expansion in Arizona in 2013, and by June of that year the legislature had passed a bill expanding Medicaid in the state .[6] In September 2013, the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the law's implementation. They argued that the law contains a tax and its implementation under the control of the executive branch violates state laws enforcing the separation of powers.[5] In 2015, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled against the 36 Republican lawmakers and the Goldwater Institute, saying that the law contains an assessment, not a tax. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court's 2015 ruling on March 16, 2017.[7]
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Sandra D. Kennedy and incumbent Justin Olson defeated Rodney Glassman and Kiana Sears in the general election for Arizona Corporation Commission on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sandra D. Kennedy (D) | 25.7 | 1,076,800 | |
| ✔ | Justin Olson (R) | 25.2 | 1,053,862 | |
| Rodney Glassman (R) | 25.1 | 1,049,394 | ||
| Kiana Sears (D) | 24.0 | 1,006,654 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 232 | ||
| Total votes: 4,186,942 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Sandra D. Kennedy and Kiana Sears defeated William Mundell in the Democratic primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Sandra D. Kennedy | 45.1 | 351,561 | |
| ✔ | Kiana Sears | 28.1 | 219,011 | |
| William Mundell | 26.8 | 208,941 | ||
| Total votes: 779,513 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Arizona Corporation Commission (2 seats)
Incumbent Justin Olson and Rodney Glassman defeated James O'Connor, incumbent Tom Forese, and Eric Sloan in the Republican primary for Arizona Corporation Commission on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Justin Olson | 25.2 | 240,825 | |
| ✔ | Rodney Glassman | 22.8 | 218,130 | |
| James O'Connor | 21.6 | 206,929 | ||
| Tom Forese | 15.9 | 152,395 | ||
| Eric Sloan | 14.4 | 138,051 | ||
| Total votes: 956,330 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
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2014
Forese ran for election to the office of Arizona Corporation Commissioner. He secured one of two possible Republican nominations in the primary election on August 26, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary election
| Arizona Corporation Commission, Republican Primary (Elect 2), 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Doug Little |
29% | 250,193 | ||
| Tom Forese |
28.9% | 249,951 | ||
| Lucy Mason | 23.1% | 199,821 | ||
| Vernon Parker | 19% | 163,773 | ||
| Total Votes | 863,738 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Arizona Corporation Commission, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Doug Little |
28.8% | 766,864 | |
| Republican | Tom Forese |
28.6% | 761,915 | |
| Democratic | Sandra Kennedy | 21.6% | 576,482 | |
| Democratic | Jim Holway | 20.9% | 557,963 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0% | 529 | |
| Total Votes | 2,663,753 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
Polls
| Arizona Corporation Commission | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Doug Little | Tom Forese | Lucy Mason | Vernon Parker | Undecided | Margin of error | Sample size | ||||||||||||
| Harper Polling August 19-20, 2014 | 29% | 12% | 17% | 17% | 26% | +/-3.44 | 812 | ||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
2012
Forese won re-election in the 2012 election for Arizona House of Representatives District 17. He and incumbent J.D. Mesnard ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012. He won the general election on November 6, 2012.[8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Forese Incumbent |
35.9% | 44,422 | |
| Republican | J.D. Mesnard Incumbent |
34.7% | 42,955 | |
| Democratic | Karyn Lathan | 29.3% | 36,265 | |
| Republican | Jason Harris (Write-in) | 0% | 41 | |
| Total Votes | 123,683 | |||
2010
Forese and J.D. Mesnard defeated Venessa Whitener in the August 24 primary. They then defeated Green Party candidate Linda J. Macias in the November 2 general election.[10][11]
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 21 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tom Forese (R)
|
42,523 | |||
| J.D. Mesnard (R)
|
39,891 | |||
| Linda J. Macias (G) | 17,181 | |||
| Arizona House of Representatives, District 21 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Tom Forese (R)
|
12,253 | |||
| J.D. Mesnard (R)
|
12,028 | |||
| Venessa Whitener (R) | 10,147 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Arizona scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2014
In 2014, the 51st Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 13 to April 24.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on ASBA's legislative priority bills.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on animal issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the 51st Arizona State Legislature was in session from January 14 to June 14.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Forese has a wife, Casey.
See also
| Arizona | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
- Arizona Corporation Commission
- Public Service Commissioner
- Arizona down ballot state executive elections, 2014
- Arizona House of Representatives
- Arizona House of Representatives District 17
- Arizona State Legislature
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Arizona Corporation Commission
- Officer Bio: Commissioner Tom Forese
- Tom Forese's campaign website
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010
Footnotes
- ↑ Arizona Corporation Commission, "Background and Organization," accessed Aug. 7, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Arizona State Legislature, "Thomas Forese," accessed Aug. 7, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Arizona Corporation Commission, "Doug Little," accessed January 5, 2015
- ↑ Mitt Romney for President, "Mitt Romney Announces Support of Additional Arizona Elected Officials," February 2, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arizona Republic, "Goldwater Institute sues over Arizona Medicaid law," September 12, 2013
- ↑ Office of the Arizona Governor, "State of the State Address," January 14, 2013
- ↑ AZCentral, "Court rejects Arizona GOP lawmakers' Medicaid challenge," March 16, 2017
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2012 Primary candidate list," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2010 Primary results," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "General election results," accessed December 13, 2013
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| Preceded by ' |
Arizona Corporation Commission 2015-2019 |
Succeeded by Sandra Kennedy (D) |