What’s in a hat? By any other name, it would still look just as cool. 

We’re back! As the senators get ready for a potentially month-long hiatus after trying to round up the budget, we’re still having some fun talking about their cowboy hats. Arizona is the American Southwest and there’s no shortage of Western history and culture. It spills over into the Legislature and seeing anyone donning a cowboy hat on any given day is not uncommon. Here’s the stories under the hats. 

Senate Pro Tem TJ Shope said his hat holds sentimental value. Here’s the story. 

PS: Sen. David Gowan, you’re our last contestant! Let’s chat about your hat soon.

Questions and answers have been lightly edited for style and clarity. 

What’s the story behind your hat? 

It’s what I wore to my wedding in 2020. I bought it in Fort Worth at M.L. Leddy’s in the stockyards, and I saw it and it was like, ‘Yeah, this would be pretty good to wear in the wedding’, and my (future) wife, Melissa, really liked it. So I went ahead and made the purchase that day and then wore it. We got married in October 2020 during Covid. I think I’ve had it in my photo each term. It’s my favorite and it’s got a lot of sentimental value now. 

How much money did it cost? 

It’s pure beaver, and it’ll definitely be the last time I buy a black felt hat. 

Do you have a hard and fast rule about when you wear your hat to the Senate?

I want to have at least the corresponding footwear to go with it, because I do bounce back and forth between dress shoes and cowboy boots. I have boots on today, but no hat. It’s not always hard and fast, but if I’ve got the appropriate footwear to go along with it, then I’m going to wear it. Now I am a fan of the Stetson Open Road. That’s like the hat that (presidents) Eisenhower and Johnson wore pretty regularly. I will put that on if it’s a dress shoe day, and I just want to have a hat on too.

Which of your fellow legislators should wear a hat (of the ones that do not currently wear a hat)? 

Oh man, I would say, and mainly because I have seen her in one, it would be Sen. Carine Werner. She does represent the most Western town of Scottsdale, so don’t be shocked if you see her wearing one during rodeo week. 

Have you ever lost your hat? What happened and how did you find it?

No, I have not. I do have a cool thing in my truck that whenever you get in it, I can take it off and I have a hat carrier kind of holder right behind me, so that helps. I’ve never lost it. That would be pretty traumatic. It’s not like a ball cap that costs 20 bucks, although those damn things don’t cost $20. 

How do you know when you’ve “earned” a cowboy hat?

Yellowstone’s really changed the game, right? When I first got to the capital in 2013, I was among the handful … Gowan, maybe, and one or two others that wore hats on a fairly regular basis, but I think that it’s in how you feel.

I’m an Arizona native. I grew up in Coolidge my whole life. It’s something I’ve worn more often than not. I think that you wear it, you own it and it should not be willy-nilly about it.

If I can avoid it, I try not to wear it indoors. If I am, it’s because I’m on my way to and from my office. Be respectful. I think that there’s gentlemanly rules that you should follow as much as you can. 

Have you ever been called out for wearing your hat in the “wrong” place?

I don’t know that I’ve been called out for wearing it in the wrong place, unless you count any time that you’re in, maybe like in a locale that it’s just not visually seen very often in person. I’m down in Rocky Point, Mexico, all the time and even during shorts season, you’ll still see me wearing it because hey, it keeps the sun out of my eyes.

If it gets over 80 to 85, the felt hat gets put away and the straw hat comes on because it gets pretty darn hot. A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, it’s got to be strict Easter to Labor Day or Memorial Day to Labor Day for a straw hat.’ And I’m like, oh my God, man. I don’t know that I need to have that kind of rule.

Our other hat related stories!

Cowboy hats and politics: The hats of Arizona’s senators

Finchem’s hat: The mark of a gentleman