Paul Gosar
Paul Gosar, a Republican former dentist who has served in the U.S. House since 2011 and represented Arizona's 9th congressional district since 2023, faces Democrat Danielle Sterbinsky, a U.S. Navy veteran, in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Paul Gosar.
- Born
- November 27, 1958
- Birthplace
- Rock Springs, Wyoming
- Education
- Pinedale High School (1977)
Creighton University (Bachelor of Science, 1981)
Creighton University Boyne School of Dentistry (Doctor of Dental Surgery, 1985)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Paul Gosar, whose full name is Paul Anthony Gosar, was born on November 27, 1958, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, the eldest of seven sons and three daughters.
His paternal grandparents were Slovenian, and his maternal grandparents were Basque immigrants from Banca, on the French side of the Franco-Spanish border. He was raised in Pinedale, Wyoming, and graduated from Pinedale High School in 1977.
Gosar received a Bachelor of Science from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1981 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery from Creighton's Boyne School of Dentistry in 1985.
Career
Paul Gosar had a dentistry practice in Flagstaff, Arizona, from 1989 to 2010, was named the Arizona Dental Association's Dentist of the Year in 2001, and served as the association's president from 2004 to 2005.
In his first run for elected office, he defeated Democratic incumbent Ann Kirkpatrick in Arizona's 1st district in 2010 with 49.7% of the vote.
After redistricting he moved to the newly created 4th district in 2012 and was reelected there through 2020, and following a later redistricting he ran in the 9th district in 2022, when he was reelected unopposed. In 2024 he was reelected with 65.3% of the vote over Democrat Quacy Smith.
In November 2021 the U.S. House censured Gosar and removed him from his committee assignments by a 223 to 207 vote after he posted an edited anime video depicting a character with his likeness attacking figures resembling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Joe Biden.
He was reinstated to his committees after Republicans regained the House majority in 2022, and in the 118th Congress he chaired the Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Gosar, who voted to challenge the certification of the 2020 presidential election, also chairs the Congressional Western Caucus.
2026 race
Arizona's 9th congressional district encompasses much of western Arizona, including portions of Yuma and western Maricopa County, and Paul Gosar is the Republican incumbent seeking reelection. He was unopposed in the Republican primary, winning 79,336 votes. His Democratic opponent is Danielle Sterbinsky, a U.S. Navy veteran who was also unopposed for her party's nomination and received 35,700 votes. Gosar and Sterbinsky meet in the general election on November 3, 2026.