Stan Barnes

Barnes earned his B.S. in broadcasting from Arizona State University in 1983 and worked in "broadcast media including both television and radio." He served in the Arizona State Legislature starting in 1988 when he was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. In his second term as a member of the Arizona House, Barnes served as chairman of the Natural Resources & Agriculture Committee. In 1994, Barnes was elected to the Arizona State Senate, where he served as chairman of the Government Reform Committee. In the state senate, Barnes worked on energy, environmental and tax policies. As a state senator, Barnes was also a member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders. In 1997, Barnes founded the Copper State Consulting Group, where he serves as president. The group aims to integrate "direct lobbying, media relations and public perception efforts into one strategic communications program" for their clients. In 2004, Barnes challenged Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, then serving in the House of Representatives, in the Republican primary for Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Flake won that election with 59.3 percent of the vote while Barnes received 40.7 percent. In 2008, Barnes and Copper State "led the campaign in favor of Prop. 200, a set of regulations backed by the payday lending industry." The regulations, packaged as an amendment to the Arizona Constitution, were defeated