Meet Tom Simes, an Independent for the Arizona State House

Tom Simes is an independent candidate running to represent Legislative District 2 (LD2) in the Arizona House of Representatives. LD2 encompasses the Moon Valley area in North Phoenix, including the Deer Valley and Ridgegate neighborhoods.

As an independent and GoodParty.org Certified candidate, Simes hopes to bring a spirit of bipartisan problem-solving to the Arizona state legislature. GoodParty.org spoke with Simes about his campaign and the independent movement in Arizona.

Tom Simes: An Independent Alternative for Moon Valley

Currently, Arizona’s second legislative district is represented by a Democratic incumbent, Judy Schwiebert, and a Republican, Justin Wilmeth. Both incumbents assumed office on January 9, 2023. 

This year, Wilmeth is running for reelection, while Schwiebert is not. In total, there are four candidates currently on the ballot to represent the Moon Valley area: Simes, Wilmeth, another Republican candidate, and a Democratic candidate. The partisan primary elections for the office will take place on July 30, 2024.

As an independent candidate, Simes will compete in the general election on November 5, 2024. If elected, Simes will become the first independent representative elected to the Arizona state legislature.

“This would have been a lot easier just to pick a party and run, but I'm really not interested in that. I want to be the candidate that I would want to see, someone who's non-partisan, not an ideologue, just somebody who wants to solve problems and be positive, inspirational, and aspirational. I'm trying to make that the narrative of my campaign,” Simes said.

Simes said he has been frustrated with the state of politics in Arizona and across the United States, especially in light of increasing political polarization.

“I'm frustrated with the way things are, and as I talk to voters and knock on doors, it's palpable that everybody is,” he said. “I talk to the left of the left and the right of the right, and they say the same things. They're all frustrated, they just want to get things done, and they're tired of fighting and having to hate everybody.”

Simes first became interested in independent politics during Ross Perot’s presidential campaign in 1992. He has been a registered independent for almost two decades, and said he feels that now is the time for progress to be made toward electing independent leaders in Arizona.

“I'm not doing this just so I can be a politician. Quite frankly, I would be okay if I don't have to take that pay cut. But if I'm going to do this, I want to do it in a way that really is inspirational,” Simes said. “I want to be the independent trailblazer. I want to go farther in Arizona as an independent than any other independent ever has. The perfect analogy is that I want to push that door open just a little bit more. I would love to kick it open, but I'm okay with just pushing it a little bit more.”

Simes said he realizes that the odds are stacked against him as an independent candidate for the state legislature — even though there is a large percentage of independent voters in Arizona. Last year, Arizona made headlines when independent voters became the largest voting bloc in the state, outnumbering Republicans.

“Independents outnumber Republicans and Democrats in the state and in my district, but the two parties have it on lockdown and they intentionally make it difficult,” Simes said. “Independents in this state need to get three to six times more signatures just to get on the ballot. Independent voters can't vote in the primary unless they ask for the primary ballot; they have to proactively ask for it and they have to pick one [party] or the other. 

“Right now, there's a ballot measure that the legislature is trying to put on the ballot to preemptively outlaw ranked choice voting, and I get it. It's all about incentives. Nobody wants competition. But I talk to people and they're all ready for it. Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, they all want something new and different and independent — and the parties obviously don't.”

In addition to these electoral barriers, Simes has also faced direct pushback from the Democratic Party. After filing 2,337 petition signatures to get on the ballot — over a thousand more than the minimum requirement of 1,345 signatures — the Democratic Party contacted Simes and asked him to drop out of the race.

Since then, Simes’ campaign has also struggled to gain the same level of media attention and publicity as his major-party competitors.

Despite these challenges, Simes is committed to connecting with voters and offering his district a meaningful alternative to the status quo.

“It would be a big deal for an independent in Arizona to win. It would shatter everything,” he said. “When I first started this and as I would meet people in politics in Arizona, either strategists or candidates or sitting legislators, they all just kind of rolled their eyes, like, ‘An independent? You're wasting your time.’ But I'm slowly changing that attitude with some of them as they see that mathematically, in my district, there is a path. It's not impossible. It's just a matter of getting in front of the voters, which is the biggest challenge.”

Whether or not he wins the election in November, Simes said he will feel accomplished if he can pave the way for future independent candidates to run for office.

“I'm not dying to be a politician, and quite frankly, even if I win, I can't imagine sitting in the legislature for four, six, eight years. No, thank you. I'm just trying to help push the door open as much as I can in Arizona,” Simes said. “I tell people that it's impossible for an independent to win until it's not impossible. It's like the four-minute mile. It was impossible until somebody did it. Now everybody does it. So if I can pull this off, there's going to be 20 independents running next time.”

A Moderate Candidate for the Arizona House of Representatives

If elected, Simes will do more than just make history as the first independent elected to the state legislature. He will also shift the balance of the Arizona House of Representatives. 

The Arizona House has 60 legislative seats. Currently, these are divided between 31 Republican representatives and 29 Democratic representatives. This balance has remained the same since 2018. Meanwhile, the Republican Party has maintained the majority within the Arizona House of Representatives since 1966.

The addition of an independent representative would shift the political dynamic of Arizona’s lower house for the first time in decades.

Simes noted that this shift could serve to pull the Republican Party in Arizona back toward the political center — a scenario that multiple sitting Republican legislators have told Simes they would support.

“If I somehow win, and the split is 30-29, there's going to be fireworks, because that means [the Republican Party] can't do anything without either the independent or another Democrat. That's history-making. That literally is pulling that party back toward a more moderate stance. If I can pull this off, it's a pretty big deal,” Simes said.

Once in office, Simes plans to focus on moving forward with legislation that the people of Arizona truly support. He is open about his stances on key issues, such as women’s reproductive rights, educational funding, and ensuring order and security at the southern border. However, he said that his campaign is not defined by any single issue.

“There isn't one or two issues that are driving me. My attitude is, ‘Let's deal with them all. Let's sit down without partisan or ideological baggage and figure out the way forward,’” Simes said.

Simes described himself as moderate on most issues, and said he has found that most voters hold similar values to his.

“Let's get past this partisan nonsense. Let's be positive. Let's stop hating each other, and let's try to find a compromise and move forward on these big issues that the parties are ignoring,” he said.

How You Can Get Involved

Want to learn more about Simes’ campaign for the Arizona House of Representatives? Visit his campaign website here to explore Simes’ policy positions, a map of Legislative District 2, volunteer opportunities, and more.

You can find volunteer opportunities to support Simes and independent candidates across the country by joining GoodParty.org’s nationwide volunteer network. Get involved by joining our Discord server or booking an info session to talk about how you can make your mark on the independent movement.

Want to make an even bigger impact? Consider running for office as an independent candidate in your community, and join the hundreds of GoodParty.org Certified candidates who are already running for office with free tools and support from GoodParty.org.

Our free campaign tools give you access to expert support, AI-powered campaign content generators, and practical voter insights. Simes said GoodParty.org’s tools are helping to level the playing field for independent candidates.

“It's going to be a huge resource, because as independents, we don't have a party that can give us access to their software. I had no idea when I started that I could just go buy the data myself. I had no idea,” Simes said. “It really is about trying to help each other out, and with what you guys [at GoodParty.org] are trying to do, that's exactly the type of stuff that independents need because they don't have the resources. We're independents, so we don't have a group that we belong to, to offer this stuff. You guys are going to be a huge benefit for independent candidates, for sure.”

Book a free consultation with our team to talk about launching your independent campaign and getting access to our full suite of tools and resources.