Arizona lawmakers want a Sandra Day O'Connor statue in U.S. Capitol. Who would she replace?

Sandra Day O'Connor should be memorialized in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall, according to a proposal promoted Monday by several Arizona lawmakers.

State Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, and U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., said in a Monday news conference placing a statue of the former Supreme Court justice in the hall would not only honor her, but Arizona: It would mark a return, of sorts, of the "Arizona cowgirl" to Washington, D.C.

Gress touted O'Connor's numerous achievements, and noted Statuary Hall represents "heroes of the people." He sponsors a legislative resolution to enshrine a statue of the former justice and Arizona lawmaker at the U.S. Capitol.

Ciscomani said he walks through Statuary Hall every day and said O'Connor would be a worthy addition to Arizona's current representatives Father Eusebio Kino and former U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater.

However, each state is entitled to only two statues. The resolution calls for O'Connor's statue to replace that of Kino, who has been memorialized in the hall since 1965. Kino's statue would be sent to Arizona and displayed "prominently and permanently" at the state Capitol building, according to House Joint Resolution 2002.

State Sen. Ken Bennett, R-Prescott, said a swap has happened before. In 2015, a statue of copper executive and former Rough Rider John Greenway was replaced with Goldwater's statue. Greenway is now on display at the Polly Rosenbaum State Archives and History building.

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"In no way is this a disrespect of Father Kino," Bennett said of the Jesuit missionary who mapped routes from Mexico into California and Arizona and established the San Xavier del Bac mission outside Tucson.

Bennet noted Kino died in 1711. "If you still have a statue in Statuary Hall after 300 years, you have done something great," Bennett said.

Gress has bipartisan sponsorship for his resolution.

One of those co-sponsors is Sen. Lela Alston, D-Phoenix, who recalled the "Chats and Chalupas" program for state lawmakers that O'Connor launched in her retirement.

It was an echo of the dinners O'Connor hosted decades earlier when she was majority leader in the Arizona State Senate. The goal: to promote civil engagement among lawmakers at a time when politics was becoming increasingly divisive, Alston said.

"When we can talk to each other in a cordial manner, that's a very important part of legislating," she added.

The resolution has not yet been assigned to a committee. If it gets the support of a majority of the Legislature, the governor would be asked to forward the request to the Library of Congress and the architect of the U.S. Capitol.

Gress said fundraising for the effort would come from private donors. Donations would cover the cost of commissioning a statue and transporting it to Washington D.C.

The Sandra Day O'Connor Institute and the Arizona Historical Advisory Commission would head up the fundraising drive, he said.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ lawmakers want Sandra Day O'Connor memorialized at Statuary Hall