Campaign themes

2016

Montenegro's campaign website highlighted the following issues:

2012

Montenegro's website highlighted the following campaign themes:

• Protecting The Taxpayers

Excerpt: "While most of our citizens have had to tighten their belts and cut their household budgets, big-spending politicians have forgotten how to say “No!” to the lobbyists and special interests that come to the state with their hands out. Enough is enough."

• Sanctity Of Life

Excerpt: "The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. These words have great meaning to me."

• Private Property Rights

Excerpt: "I will continue to fight to protect private property rights, to eliminate burdensome regulations and to better manage our public lands. I was proud to support Proposition 207 (Private Property Rights Protection Act), a 2007 effort to protect private property rights from the abuse of eminent domain laws."

• Family And Traditional Marriage

Excerpt: "Families and traditional marriage benefit our society. I firmly believe that the institution of marriage should be protected, and that marriage is defined as one man and one woman. The decisions I make as a member of the House of Representatives will always be done with the best interests of families and children in mind."

• Secure Borders

Excerpt: "Whether your primary concern is national security, wasteful spending, education, healthcare, or our criminal justice system, the most important thing we can do is to secure our borders. The cost of illegal immigration in Arizona is nearly 2 billion dollars a year, and you, the taxpayer, are paying the bill."

Medicaid expansion lawsuit

Steve Montenegro was one of the 36 Republican members of the Arizona State Legislature who signed onto a lawsuit brought by the Goldwater Institute in September 2013 against Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) over the expansion of Medicaid in Arizona under provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Brewer announced her support for Medicaid expansion in Arizona in 2013, and by June of that year the legislature had passed a bill expanding Medicaid in the state . In September 2013, the Goldwater Institute, a conservative think tank, filed a lawsuit seeking to block the law's implementation. They argued that the law contains a tax and its implementation under the control of the executive branch violates state laws enforcing the separation of powers. In 2015, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled against the 36 Republican lawmakers and the Goldwater Institute, saying that the law contains an assessment, not a tax. The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court's 2015 ruling on March 16, 2017.