GOP lawmaker touts economic record while his own wages are being garnished

Republican state Rep. Justin Wilmeth is running for reelection on his record of bolstering Arizona’s economy, even as his own legislative salary was garnished last year because he defaulted on a student loan. 

Wilmeth, who was a Republican policy advisor for the Arizona House of Representatives before he was elected to the body in 2020, is a three-time graduate of Arizona State University. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science, a master’s degree in public administration and a master’s degree in global security.

In 2024, LCS Capital, which purchased his student loan debt from Sallie Mae, sued Wilmeth for an unpaid $18,700 student loan, according to court records. Wilmeth didn’t respond to the lawsuit or attend any hearings, resulting in a default judgement against him, plus interest on the loan and court costs for LCS Capital, bringing the total owed to more than $22,000. 

In 2025, the court ordered his $24,000 legislative salary to be garnished until the loan was repaid. 

Wilmeth, of Phoenix, has been a member of the House Commerce Committee since he took office and was its chairman in 2023 and 2024. He was named chairman of the brand new House Artificial Intelligence and Innovation Committee at the beginning of 2026. Along the way, he has touted his focus on economic and fiscal responsibility.

“I’m running for a third term because I have played a big part in Arizona’s booming economy and there’s more for me to do as your state representative,” Wilmeth wrote in his candidate profile when he ran for reelection in 2024. “I believe that the best way to a great society is the availability of amazing jobs and salaries for Arizonans.”

In a statement emailed to the Arizona Mirror, Wilmeth implied that his only income is his legislative pay and characterized that garnishment as part of his effort to repay the loan.

“I borrowed to go to ASU, I am paying that loan back, and last year part of that repayment came out of my legislative paycheck,” he said.

Wilmeth did not directly answer questions about why the court had to force him to repay the loan, especially when he’s an advocate of responsible state budgeting. 

“On $24,000, rent and groceries come first,” he said. “That is what a citizen legislature looks like. I am not rich and did not run for office to get rich. I ran to serve the state and to help make the lives of everyday Arizonans better. How I manage a $24,000 paycheck and how I vote on a multi-billion-dollar budget are not the same question.”

The paltry salary that Arizona legislators are paid has not been increased since 1998, and it has been a subject of criticism for years. The Grand Canyon State has a part-time legislature that is supposed to end its business for the year at 100 days, but regularly ends up working into May and June. 

That makes it difficult for people who aren’t wealthy to run for office, and legislators have quit because of it. 

Earlier this year, Wilmeth sponsored a ballot referral that would force the Arizona Legislature to finish its business by April 30 every year, while allowing the governor to call special sessions after that to work on the state budget, which must be finished by June 30. The proposal passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support but was held in the Arizona Senate. 

At the time, Wilmeth said that his plan would force the legislature to be more disciplined in its approach to lawmaking and budgeting and would make it practical for more people to run for office. 

It’s unclear how much money Wilmeth made outside of his legislative salary last year, and he didn’t answer additional questions about it. In 2019, Wilmeth founded Firebrand Strategic Consulting, which provides professional, scientific and technical services, according to its articles of organization filed with the state. 

He was paid $11,900 by the Arizona Republican Party in 2025 for contracting and consulting work, according to campaign finance reports. 

Also in 2025, Wilmeth took 16 trips paid by other people, according to the financial disclosure he filed with the Secretary of State’s Office. Others paid for his travel on trade delegation trips to places like Japan, Germany, Guatemala and Indonesia and to events and conferences in places like New Mexico, California and Texas. Legislators are required to disclose trips paid by other people that are worth more than $1,000. 

The year prior, he took 15 such trips, more than any other legislator, the Arizona Agenda reported. 

In 2024, Wilmeth said that some of his major accomplishments were bringing new international trade offices to Arizona.