Jeffry Lane "Jeff" Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has served as the Junior United States Senator from Arizona since 2013. Born in Snowflake, Arizona, Flake is a graduate of Brigham Young University and was a Mormon missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints before working in public affairs, serving as Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia and Executive Director of the Goldwater Institute. Flake was elected to the United States House of Representatives from Arizona in 2000 for the state's Arizona's 1st congressional district. He was redistricted to the Arizona's 6th congressional district during his first term and was re-elected six times, serving from 2001 to 2013 and assigned to the Committee on Appropriations. Flake declined to seek re-election to the House in 2012, instead running for the U.S. Senate. He defeated three challengers in the Republican primary and, after a close race, beat Democrat Richard Carmona, the former Surgeon General of the United States, in the general election by 49.2% to 46.2%. Flake was sworn-in in January 2013 and serves on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on the Judiciary and the Special Committee on Aging.