Ben Quayle Gets Political Nod of Approval From Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams

Ben Quayle

​Congressional candidate Ben Quayle got a little love today from Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams who announced he'll be endorsing Quayle in the District 3 Congressional race.

The political tip-of-the-cap from a high-ranking Republican is good news for Quayle who is currently engaged in one of the most crowded primary races in the entire country.


"Ben Quayle is part of a new generation of leaders that we need in Congress. As a small business owner, he understands the importance of getting government out of the way and letting free enterprise and our entrepreneurial spirit grow the economy," Adams says in a statement. "Ben believes, as I do, that we cannot tax our way out of the economic slump we are in. We must reduce government spending and reduce the tax burden for everyone so we can start creating jobs again."

There are currently 10 Republicans in the primary for the Congressional seat being vacated by Congressman John Shadegg.

According to the latest poll, Quayle is leading the crowded pack with about 18 percent of the vote.

Former state senator Jim Waring and Paradise Valley Mayor Vernon Parker are in a statistical tie for the number two spot, each with about 13 percent of the vote.

Former state Senator Pam Gorman, also a candidate in the primary, has had some pretty nasty things to say about Quayle recently, telling the Arizona Republic "there's 10 people in this race, and there's nine of us that may not agree on anything, but we all agree that it is completely offensive that Dan Quayle is trying to buy his little boy a seat in Congress."

For the record, the "little boy" jab is coming from someone who stormed off the Senate floor last year after things weren't going her way during budget negotiations. She then pouted off on a Midwestern vacation where she was unreachable by Senate leadership desperate to get a hold of her during a legislative special session.

As if that weren't enough, she then spouted off on a New Times reader who called her out for playing hooky.

"Be careful when you ask people to do things you wouldn't do (like work 60 hour weeks at the federal poverty level) and then bash them for defending their right to be with their families for a few brief days or for putting in a few hours at their "other" job that pays their mortgage," Gorman scolds in an email sent to a New Times reader. "You sound like a fool when you do."

In any event, Gorman's currently in the No. 5 spot in the primary with about 6 percent of the vote -- hopefully someone explains to her that should she actually win the seat she may be expected to put in a 60-hour work week. Just throwin' it out there.