Thomas Charles O'Halleran (; born January 24, 1946) is an American politician serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for since 2017. Beginning his political career as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, he was the Arizona state senator from the 1st district from 2007 to 2009. In 2015, he became a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He also serves as the chair of communications for the

Blue Dog Coalition The Blue Dog Coalition (commonly known as the Blue Dogs or Blue Dog Democrats) is a caucus in the United States House of Representatives comprising centrist members from the Democratic Party. The caucus was founded as a group of conservative De ...

Early life and education

O'Halleran was born and raised in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and graduated from

Providence St. Mel School Providence St. Mel School (PSM) is a private, coeducational Preschool-12th Grade school in East Garfield Park, Chicago, Illinois. History The school was created in 1969 with the merger of two schools, Providence High School and St. Mel High S ...

. He attended

Lewis University Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois, United States. The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students. Lewis offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate pro ...

for one year before joining the

Chicago Police Department The Chicago Police Department (CPD) is the municipal law enforcement agency of the U.S. city of Chicago, Illinois, under the jurisdiction of the City Council. It is the second-largest municipal police department in the United States, behind t ...

. O'Halleran later attended

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

for one year.

Early career

O'Halleran served with the

from 1966 to 1975. He then became a member of the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established on April 3, 1848, is one of the world's oldest futures and options exchanges. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

, operating his own futures trading business with a focus in futures contracts on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes.

Arizona Legislature

O'Halleran, then a

, served in the

Arizona House of Representatives The Arizona State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. The upper house is the Senate. The House convenes in the legislative chambers at the Arizona State C ...

from 2001 to 2007. He then served in the

Arizona State Senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

, representing the 1st district from 2007 to 2009. In a 2008 primary election, he was unseated by

Steve Pierce Steve Pierce (born 1950) is an American politician from Arizona. Pierce was a Republican member of the Arizona House of Representatives for District 1, serving until 2021. He was a member of the Arizona Senate from the 1st district. He was ...

. After leaving the Arizona legislature, O'Halleran hosted a radio show on

KAZM KAZM (780 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a mixed format consisting of news, sports, variety talk, classic rock and oldies music, the Wolfman Jack show, and Coast to Coast AM at night. Licensed to Sedona, Arizona, United States. The statio ...

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

. In 2014 he left the Republican Party, citing its policies on education, water, and child welfare. He then ran for the 6th district seat of the State Senate as an independent, losing by 3%.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2016

On August 6, 2015, O'Halleran announced his candidacy as a Democrat for

Arizona's 1st congressional district Arizona's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of Arizona, covering northeastern Maricopa County. Before 2023, geographically, it was the eleventh-largest congressional district in the country and incl ...

. He explained his switch of party affiliation as a result of his positive attitude toward government, and, in particular, of his support for government regulations that would increase the use of wind and solar energy. In May 2016, O'Halleran was named to the

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises ...

's Red to Blue list, indicating that his race was a priority for the group. On August 30, 2016, O'Halleran beat Miguel Olivas in the Democratic primary. He defeated Republican

Paul Babeu Paul Raymond Babeu (pronounced ''BAB-you''; born February 3, 1969) is an American law enforcement officer, politician and member of the Republican Party who was sheriff of Pinal County, Arizona, from January 1, 2009, to January 1, 2017. He was ...

and Green Party candidate Ray Parrish in the general election with 51% of the vote.

2018

O'Halleran ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. In the general election, he defeated Republican Wendy Rogers with 54% of the vote.

2020

O'Halleran was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Tiffany Shedd with 51.6% of the vote.

2022

In the 2021 decennial redistricting, O'Halleran's district was reshaped and renumbered as the 2nd congressional district and he ran for reelection there against Republican

Eli Crane Elijah James Crane (born January 3, 1980) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Arizona's 2nd congressional district since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Crane served in the United States ...

. The new district was made significantly more Republican than its predecessor, as it gained heavily Republican Prescott. O'Halleran lost to Crane in the general election, winning only in the district's most Democratic counties, Coconino and

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

Tenure

117th Congress (2021–23)

O'Halleran was at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

on January 6, 2021, to certify the results of the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...

when the Capitol was stormed. He was moved to a safe location along with other members of Congress. He voted in support of a resolution calling for Vice President

Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...

to use the

Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-fifth Amendment (Amendment XXV) to the United States Constitution deals with presidential succession and disability. It clarifies that the vice president becomes president if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office, a ...

to remove Trump from office. Days later, he voted for the

second impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the second time on January 13, 2021, one week before his term expired. It was the fourth impeachment of a U.S. president, and the second for Trump after his first imp ...

. In February, O'Halleran voted in support of the

American Rescue Plan The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, also called the COVID-19 Stimulus Package or American Rescue Plan, is a economic stimulus bill passed by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, to s ...

Committee assignments

Tom O'Halleran with Navajo Nation Housing Authority

* Committee on Agriculture ** Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit ** Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry ** Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management *

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

** Subcommittee on Communications and Technology ** Subcommittee on Energy ** Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce

Caucus memberships

(chair for communications) *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a congressional caucus, caucus in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, primarily Centrism, cent ...

Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus The Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus was formed by openly gay representatives Tammy Baldwin and Barney Frank June 4, 2008, to advance LGBT+ rights. The caucus had 165 members (164 Democrats and one Republican, Jeff Van Drew) in the 116t ...

* Problem Solvers Caucus

Political positions

As of November 2022, O'Halleran had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time. He is a chair of the

Abortion

O'Halleran describes himself as

pro-choice Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

but has a mixed record on abortion issues. In the

Arizona state senate The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms w ...

, he voted in favor of a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. O'Halleran opposed the 2022 overturning of ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

'', calling it "a mammoth setback for women, families and our nation."

Energy and oil

According to On the Issues, in 2008 O'Halleran introduced HB 2613, an act that would give businesses using renewable energy property tax incentives.

Foreign policy

According to On the Issues, in 2017 O'Halleran endorsed a

two-state solution The two-state solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict envisions an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel, west of the Jordan River. The boundary between the two states is still subject to dispute and negotiation ...

despite Israeli settlements on the West Bank.

Government spending

In March 2018, O'Halleran criticized the Trump administration for seeking to cut funding for agencies and programs including the

Economic Development Administration The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that provides grants and technical assistance to economically distressed communities in order to generate new employment, help retain exist ...

Gun policy

After the

Stoneman Douglas High School shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

in Parkland, Florida, O'Halleran, who had long supported expanded background checks but opposed an assault-weapon ban, suggested he might shift toward a stronger position on gun control. He said: "At times you have to look at yourself in the mirror and do the right thing and say forget about the political consequences."

Immigration

When Trump ordered a travel ban on visitors and refugees from seven predominantly Muslim nations in January 2017, O'Halleran said that the order "does not represent our nation's values" and that it violated the Constitution and "the bedrock ideals of our democracy". In April 2017, O'Halleran criticized Attorney General

Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United State ...

's tougher new guidelines on expelling illegal immigrants who belong to criminal gangs. He said: "I have no problem with getting the felons out of the country. But some of these people that they're taking out of the country, they have children that are Americans, and they have not had a violent felony conviction. Here we are, taking mothers away from their children." O'Halleran was part of a group of Arizona Democrats who, in an August 2017 letter to Trump, urged him not to pardon former

Maricopa County Maricopa County is in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,420,568, making it the state's most populous county, and the fourth-most populous in the United States. It contains about 6 ...

chief Sheriff

Joe Arpaio Joseph Michael Arpaio (; born June 14, 1932) is an American former law enforcement officer and politician. He served as the 36th Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona for 24 years, from 1993 to 2017, losing reelection to Democrat Paul Penzone i ...

, who had been convicted in a federal court of racially profiling Latinos as part of border patrols.

Qualified immunity

In 2021, O'Halleran was among a group of Democrats who sought to remove a provision from a police reform bill that would end

qualified immunity In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...

for police officers accused of misconduct.

Personal life

O'Halleran and his wife Pat live in unincorporated

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

(with a

address). They have three grown children and four grandchildren.Official list of congressmen
for 115th Congress, on which O'Halleran is listed as "D-Sedona")

References

External links

Congressman Tom O'Halleran
official U.S. House website
Tom O'Halleran for Congress
campaign website * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohalleran, Tom 1946 births 21st-century American politicians Arizona Independents Arizona Republicans Arizona state senators Chicago Police Department officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona Living people Members of the Arizona House of Representatives People from Sedona, Arizona Politicians from Chicago