James Taylor

Republican · House · LD29

James Taylor entered the 2024 LD29 House race as a write-in after Rep. Austin Smith abandoned his re-election bid amid accusations that he forged nominating-petition signatures, a charge Smith pleaded guilty to in 2025. Taylor won the primary and a seat that November, and spent 30 years in management at the Palo Verde nuclear plant and eight years at Shell Oil before that. He vice-chairs the House Education Committee and declined the Clean Elections debate.