Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( KYLE; April 25, 1942 – September 17, 2026) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013. Following the death of John McCain in 2018, Kyl briefly returned to the Senate; his resignation led to the appointment of Martha McSally in 2019. He held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, serving alongside McCain during his first stint. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as Senate Minority Whip from 2007 until 2013. He previously served in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995. He first joined the lobbying firm Covington & Burling after retiring in 2013, then rejoined in 2019.
The son of U.S. Representative John Henry Kyl and Arlene (née Griffith) Kyl, Kyl was born and raised in Nebraska and lived for some time in Iowa. He received his bachelor's degree and law degree from the University of Arizona. He worked in Phoenix, Arizona, as an attorney and lobbyist before winning election to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1987 to 1995. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994 and continued to be re-elected by comfortable margins until his retirement in January 2013. In 2006, he was recognized by Time magazine as one of America's Ten Best Senators. Kyl was ranked by National Journal in 2007 as the fourth-most conservative U.S. Senator. He was a fixture of Republican policy leadership posts, chairing the Republican Policy Committee (2003–2006) and the Republican Conference (2006–2007) before becoming Senate Minority Whip until his retirement in 2013. He was named one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world in 2010 for his persuasive role in the Senate.
After leaving the Senate in 2013, Kyl worked as an attorney and lobbyist and then worked to shepherd the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.
In September 2018, Kyl was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to serve in the Class 3 Senate seat left vacant by the death of John McCain. Kyl was the first person to return to the Senate via appointment since New Hampshire Republican Norris Cotton in 1975. Kyl resigned from the Senate effective December 31, 2018, and was succeeded by Martha McSally.
Early life, education and career
Kyl was born in Oakland, Nebraska, on April 25, 1942, the son of Arlene (née Griffith) and John Henry Kyl, a teacher at Nebraska State Teachers College. His father, the son of Dutch immigrants, served as a Congressman from Iowa after moving his family to Bloomfield, Iowa. After graduating from high school in 1960, Kyl attended the University of Arizona, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1964, graduating with honors. Kyl was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He then earned a law degree in 1966 at the University of Arizona's James E. Rogers College of Law, and served as editor-in-chief of the Arizona Law Review. Before entering politics, he was a lawyer and lobbyist with Jennings, Strouss & Salmon in Phoenix, Arizona. He also worked as an attorney at Mountain States Legal Foundation in Denver, Colorado, prior to running for office.
He was a Presbyterian. Kyl was married to Caryll Collins and they had two children together. They also had four grandchildren.
Kyl was first elected in 1986 against Democrat Philip R. Davis, 65% to 35%.
Kyl was re-elected in 1988 against Gary Sprunk of the Libertarian Party, 87% to 13%;
Kyl was re-elected in 1990 against Democrat Mark Ivey Jr., 61% to 39%;
For his first six terms, Kyl represented most of the northeastern portion of the state, from heavily Republican northern Phoenix to the New Mexico border. Redistricting after the 1990 census carved away all of Kyl's former territory outside the Valley of the Sun. The new 4th, however, was as safely Republican as its predecessor, and Kyl easily won reelection in 1992 against Democrat Walter R. Mybeck II, 59% to 27%.
Kyl served in the House of Representatives from 1987 to 1995.
Kyl voted for the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987. The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventing treasure hunters and salvagers from damaging them. President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on April 28, 1988.
Kyl was first elected to the Senate in 1994, defeating Samuel G. Coppersmith (D), then a member of the House of Representatives, 54% to 40%. Libertarian Party candidate Scott Grainger got 6% of the votes.
Kyl was re-elected in 2000 without major-party opposition, with 79% of the vote. Independent William Toel got 8%; Green Party candidate Vance Hansen also got 8%; and Barry Hess of the Libertarian Party got 5%.
On November 7, 2006, Kyl defeated real estate developer and former Arizona Democratic Party chairman Jim Pederson to win his third term in the Senate. Kyl won with 53% of the vote; Pederson received 44%; and Libertarian Party candidate Richard Mack received 3%. The race was one of the most expensive in Arizona history, with Kyl raising more than $15 million and Pederson raising just shy of that amount.
A major issue in the campaign was illegal immigration. While in the Senate, Kyl cosponsored legislation that would give illegal immigrants up to five years to leave the country. Once there, they could apply for permanent residence or be guest workers. Since fellow Arizona Senator John McCain opposed this legislation, Pederson tried to use the issue as a way of allying with McCain and dividing Republicans in Arizona. Controversy also arose when each candidate accused the other of supporting the amnesty provisions in a 1986 immigration bill, although both candidates denied ever supporting those provisions.
Kyl was elected by his fellow Senate Republicans to a succession of leadership posts: Policy Committee chairman (2003–2007), Conference chairman (2007), and finally Senate Minority Whip in December 2007. Kyl's ascension to Minority Whip rendered him the first Arizonan to hold such an influential Senate leadership post since Democrat Ernest W. McFarland served as Senate Majority Leader from 1951 to 1953. Kyl was the only Arizona Republican to hold that leadership position.