Chris Stewart

Christopher Douglas Stewart (born July 15, 1960) is an American politician, author, and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for Utah's 2nd congressional district from 2013 until his resignation in 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is known for his bestsellers Seven Miracles That Saved America and The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World, as well as his series The Great and Terrible.

Stewart graduated from Utah State University in 1984 before joining the United States Air Force. Later, he began writing novels and became president and CEO of the Shipley Group. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 and was re-elected five times.

Stewart formally announced on May 31, 2023, that he intended to resign from Congress to focus on helping take care of his wife's health issues. He resigned on September 15.

Stewart was born in Logan, Utah, and grew up on a dairy farm in Cache Valley. His father was a retired Air Force pilot and teacher. His mother, Sybil S. Stewart, was a full-time homemaker and was recognized as the Utah Mother of the Year in 1996.

Stewart graduated from Sky View High School in 1978 and entered Utah State University that year. After a year in college, he served as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Texas. After his church service, Stewart reentered Utah State, and in 1984 earned a degree in economics from its College of Business.

After college, Stewart was accepted into the Air Force's Officer Training School, followed by assignment to Undergraduate Pilot Training, graduating at the top of his class in both instances. Stewart flew both helicopters and jet aircraft in the military.

Stewart served in the Air Force for 14 years, initially flying rescue helicopters and then transitioning to fixed-wing jets and flying the B-1B bomber. He was stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Mountain Home Air Force Base, and other Air Force bases.

In 1995, Stewart was awarded the Mackay Trophy for "significant aerial achievement" for the combat capability operation known as Coronet Bat. On June 3, 1995, Stewart and a flight of two B-1s set the world record for the fastest nonstop flight around the world. He was the mission's senior project officer. The mission's purpose was to demonstrate the B-1 Lancer's capability with live bombing activity over three bombing ranges on three continents in two hemispheres. In the process, the team set three world records, flying 36,797.65 kilometers in 36 hours and 13 minutes.

After his military career, Stewart entered the private sector. He was president and CEO of the Shipley Group, a consulting company that specializes in energy and environmental issues. Shipley also participates in government anti-terrorism training, corporate security and executive preparedness consulting. Stewart sold his majority ownership in Shipley Group in December 2012 before being sworn in as a U.S. congressman.

Stewart began writing books in the late 1990s. His first novel, Shattered Bone, was published in 1998. Stewart wrote four additional techno-thrillers before he began writing the series The Great and Terrible. Before completing his last book in that series, he started writing historical novels. His book Seven Miracles That Saved America was chosen as "Book of the Month", and The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World became a New York Times Bestseller within two weeks of publication and was selected for the National Communications Award by the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge. The Miracle of Freedom and Seven Miracles That Saved America were co-written with his brother, U.S. district judge Ted Stewart. The Miracle of Freedom was endorsed by radio/talk show host Glenn Beck, who has been credited for making the book a bestseller. Stewart has written 14 books. He worked with Elizabeth Smart to co-write her memoir, My Story. In 2005, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir performed A Christmas Bell for Anya, which he co-authored with his wife Evie.

On October 21, 2011, Utah Policy wrote that Stewart was going to run for Congress in Utah's 2nd congressional district. His formal announcement took place on December 6, 2011.

In February 2012, Stewart released a campaign video expressing his view that "if we don't make some difficult decisions now, if we don't show the courage to do what we have to do to save our country, we won't make it for another 10 years." He also said that "at critical times in our history... we literally had miracles where God intervened to save us."

On April 21, 2012, at a controversial nominating convention, Stewart secured the Republican nomination. Before the convention, an anonymous anti-Stewart mailer was sent to convention delegates. In his speech to delegates, another candidate, Milt Hanks, alleged that the other candidates had made an anti-Stewart pact. Stewart's opponents considered the mailer and the allegations to be a set-up to elicit sympathy for Stewart's candidacy; they later filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission over the incident. A subsequent party inquiry showed no proof of wrongdoing by any candidate.

Stewart won the general election with 62% of the vote, defeating Jay Seegmiller, and took office on January 3, 2013.

In the 2014 election, Stewart was challenged by Luz Robles, a state senator and vice president of Zions Bank. Robles suspended campaigning for two months to serve as caregiver for her daughter and mother, who were seriously injured in a car accident.

According to his website, since arriving in Congress, Stewart "consistently supported efforts to defund and repeal Obamacare." He co-sponsored the Defund Obamacare Act of 2013 and supported other efforts to "repeal, defund or dismantle the law." He also promised to "continue to do all that [he] can to seek strategic opportunities to... defund, delay and repeal this healthcare law." In place of Obamacare, Stewart supported the American Healthcare Reform Act.

Stewart is an advocate for mental health; according to Roll Call, one of his "signature legislative accomplishments" was assisting in the creation of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, a federally-operated crisis hotline for mental health and suicide prevention at the phone number 988. It replaced the previous National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and became active in July 2022.

As of 2013, Stewart rejected the idea that climate change is caused by human activity.

In 2014, Stewart sponsored H.R. 1422 (113th Congress), the EPA Science Advisory Board Reform Act of 2014, which would reform the composition and activities of the Environmental Protection Agency's science advisory board. Under the bill, at least 10% of the members of the board would be required to be from state, local, or tribal governments, corporate and industry experts would no longer be excluded from the board, and board members would be prohibited from advising the EPA in discussions that cite their work. The bill was opposed by Democrats and critics such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, who said it would enable conflicts of interest and restrict scientists' ability to provide proper advice to the government.

Stewart has a 5% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters.

Stewart is married to his wife Evie; the couple have six children together, three of whom still lived in Utah as of Stewart's inauguration in 2013. During his tenure, he spent his weekends at their home in Farmington, Utah. Evie Stewart has reportedly suffered from unspecified health issues as of 2023, which Stewart cited in his resignation.