In 1992, Wead was the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Arizona's 6th Congressional District. Despite having lived in Arizona for only a few years, Wead won the Republican nomination after championing a tax limitation initiative and airing a television commercial featuring praise by former President Ronald Reagan for his humanitarian efforts.[6] However, the Democratic nominee, Karan English, received the endorsement of former Arizona Senator and 1964 Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater who thought Wead was out of touch with Arizona because of his relatively brief residency in the state — two years to English's 22. Wead countered that Goldwater's support of abortion rights spurred the unexpected crossing of party lines.[7] He ended up losing in the general election to English.