Arizona State Rep. Chris Lopez, a Republican who represents Maricopa, has been selected for the 22nd Annual Melissa Hortman Emerging Leaders Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, a national leadership initiative that prepares state legislators for greater responsibility in public service.
Lopez was nominated by House Speaker Steve Montenegro and selected after a competitive review process. The 2026 class includes 57 legislators from 44 states.
“This is a serious honor, and I do not take it lightly,” said Lopez in a news release. “I am proud to represent Arizona alongside lawmakers from across the country. Speaker Montenegro put his confidence in me, and I intend to earn it.”
The program will be held this July in Charlottesville, Va., through a partnership between the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and UVA’s Darden School. Participants will take part in leadership training alongside fellow lawmakers from across the country.
“States need serious leadership, sound judgment and the willingness to stand up for what works,” Lopez continued. “Arizona House Republicans are leading on public safety, economic strength, parental rights and limited government. I am proud to bring that record and that perspective to this program.”
![Western Pinal Justice of the Peace Patricia Glover speaks during a City of Maricopa Republican Club on May 23, 2026. [Monica D. Spencer]](https://inmaricopa.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260529-spencer-teeple-republican-club-1-4-300x200.jpg)
3 Responses
Anti-abortionist.
Your saying that as if its a bad thing lol. Aborting babies is murder and for you to think otherwise is due to brainwashing and ignorance.
Psalm 139:13-16 ~ For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
To say that someone is “brainwashed” and “ignorant” for believing that abortion is fine is truly asinine. Also, you quoting the bible truly does not mean much. Your religion may say that abortion is bad, but that doesn’t go for everyone’s beliefs. Forcing someone to be how you want them to be is very abhorrent.