Montenegro was born in El Salvador and at age four immigrated to the United States with his family. According to his official biography, he graduated magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Political Science. He also holds an Associate of Arts in Theology from CBAN and Logos Christian University.
Political career
Before his election to the state House, Montenegro was a district representative for Republican Congressman Trent Franks. Montenegro was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in November 2008, succeeding John B. Nelson. He represents Legislative District 13, which includes Goodyear, Litchfield Park, Avondale and also Luke Air Force Base. Montenegro was a Donald Trump delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention. He was also a frequent defender of the President on national TV, where his status as a conservative Latino made him a popular foil for liberal hosts and guests like Jorge Ramos, Anna Navarro, Chris Cuomo, and Jake Tapper. He was the only Hispanic in the Arizona legislature to vote for the highly controversial Arizona SB 1070. In response to accusations of racial profiling of Hispanics, he replied by saying that "This bill has nothing to do with race or profiling. It has to do with the law. We are seeing a lot of crime here in Arizona because of the open borders that we have." Montenegro ran for the Republican nomination for Congress in the special election in Arizona's 8th congressional district in 2018, but was defeated by former State SenatorDebbie Lesko. He had been endorsed by Congressman Trent Franks and by former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. During his campaign, Montenegro emphasized his support for President Donald Trump.
Controversy
During Arizona's 8th congressional district special election, 2018 it was revealed that he received a nude selfy from a capitol staffer, although her attorney confirmed there was no physical relationship between the two. The staffer reportedly sent a topless photo of herself, to which Montenegro responded, "Snap", a reference to the popular messaging app Snapchat, which is famous for its sent photos to be viewed only temporarily. Montenegro called the story "false tabloid trash", but was ultimately defeated in the election.
Personal life
Steve also serves as Associate Pastor at the Surprise Apostolic Assembly. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Arizona Charter Academy.
Elections
2016 Term limited, and with incumbent Senator Don Shooter running for the house instead, Montenegro ran for the Arizona senate, defeating Diane Landis in the Republican Primary and was unopposed in the general election.
2014 Montenegro and Darin Mitchell defeated Diane Landis in the Republican primary. Mitchell and Montenegro defeated Steve Hansen in the general election.
2012 Redistricted to District 13, Montenegro ran in the three-way August 28, 2012 Republican Primary; Montenegro placed first, Darin Mitchell placed second with 8,572 votes, and Representative Russ Jones who was redistricted from District 24, placed third; Montenegro won the first seat in the 2012 General election.
