Key Points:

• Reps. David Marshall and Ralph Heap are running for the Corporation Commission

• They will challenge Republican  incumbents Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers

• Challengers are latest in Freedom Caucus bids for statewide offices

Two Republican state representatives announced their plans to challenge two incumbent Corporation Commissioners in 2026, saying the two commissioners have not done enough to support President Donald Trump’s energy agenda and protect ratepayers. 

Reps. David Marshall, R-Snowflake, and Ralph Heap, R-Mesa, were recruited by Arizona Freedom Caucus Chair and state Senator Jake Hoffman to run against Republican commissioners Kevin Thompson and Nick Myers. The two commissioners were first elected in 2022 and are eligible to run for a second term next year.

“The American people in November 2024 gave President Donald Trump a mandate, and this mandate translates down to the city, translates down to the states, with the expectation that President Trump’s agenda, especially regarding energy, will be implemented here in Arizona,” Marshall said during a press conference on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, President Trump’s agenda is not being implemented right now through the Corporation Commission.”

The Corporation Commission oversees the state’s public utility companies, business and security registrations, railroads and transmission lines. It is composed of five commissioners who are elected statewide to serve two four-year terms, and it currently has an all-Republican majority, with Thompson serving as chair and Myers as vice chair. 

Neither Marshall nor Heap have utility-specific experience. Marshall is a retired cop turned pastor who lives in Snowflake, while Heap is an orthopedic surgeon based in Mesa. 

“I think it’s actually an advantage, not a disadvantage, to be a little bit disconnected,” Heap said. “And so I think we’re excited about that part of it, and we’re very capable of learning whatever we need to do the jobs.”

Thompson and Myers have denied they are standing in the way of Trump’s energy agenda or harming ratepayers by approving utility rate increases. 

“The beauty of our electoral process is voters have a choice,” Thompson and Myers said in a joint statement. “And that choice will be between incumbents who have kept their campaign promises of ensuring we have one of the most reliable grids in the country while maintaining affordability for ratepayers, and special interest proxies who have been recruited to return politics to ratemaking.” 

Thompson is a former Mesa City Council member and president of the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association, where he dealt with city utilities. He spent 12 years working in business development at Southwest Gas, a utility company regulated by the Corporation Commission. 

Myers previously worked as a software engineer for various companies before starting his own company in 2013. He previously owned and operated a dog boarding facility with his wife. 

Prior to becoming a commissioner, Myers worked as a policy advisor at the commission between 2021 and 2023, while he was running for office. 

In recent weeks, the Freedom Caucus and Turning Point USA have accused the all-Republican Corporation Commission of not upholding Trump’s plans to reinvigorate the nation’s coal industry. The commission faced criticism for allowing Arizona Public Service to close its Cholla Power Plant on March 17.

Thompson and Myers doubled down on the closure, explaining in both a public hearing and a statement that it was too late to reopen Cholla because Trump’s executive order deregulating the coal industry came weeks after the plant had closed. They noted that the executive order was a step in the right direction, but too many environmental protections prevented Cholla from being profitable.

Thompson said in a statement on May 30 that it would cost ratepayers almost $2 billion to reopen the coal plant. He criticized lawmakers who signed onto a letter encouraging the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to reactivate the plant, saying, “This demonstrates just how far they are removed from the realities of ratemaking.”

The two have also been criticized for not pushing back against environmental, social, governance and diversity, equity and inclusion policies implemented by utility companies. Both commissioners have said they do not believe the Corporation Commission has the authority to govern the internal policies of public service companies. 

Republican public relations consultant Barrett Marson said that, despite the criticism from the Freedom Caucus, Myers and Thompson are “certainly among the most conservative Corporation Commissioners that have ever been elected.”

However, Marson also noted that the “power of incumbency” is not as strong for an office like the Corporation Commission, where candidates often have to explain what the commission does before making their pitch to voters. None of that necessarily gives Marshall and Heap a leg up in the election. 

“I think Heap and Marshall are just going to find it a very difficult slog,” Marson said. “Running a legislative race is one thing, running a statewide race for an office that no one’s really ever heard of? It’s gonna be pretty difficult.” 

Myers and Thompson are only the latest statewide Republican elected officials to get the Freedom Caucus primary treatment. Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne will face a challenge from term-limited state Treasurer Kimberly Yee. 

The Freedom Caucus is also running candidates for governor and secretary of state, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs and state Rep. Alex Kolodin, R-Scottsdale, respectively. Hoffman told reporters on June 10 that he isn’t concerned about how Freedom Caucus candidates would fare in a general election if they succeed in their primaries. 

“The grassroots are on fire for these candidates, the grassroots are on fire for Congressman Biggs to be the next governor of Arizona, they’re on fire for Kimberly Yee to be the next superintendent of public instruction, they’re on fire for Alex Kolodin to be the next secretary of state,” Hoffman said.

While the stage is set for the Republican primary, it remains unclear whether any major Democratic challengers will step up to the plate. Three Democrats have filed statements of interest with the secretary of state: 2024 candidate Jonathon Hill, Tucson business owner Derrick Espadas and Phoenix marketing consultant Vincent Salazar.