Moxie Founder and CEO Jason Walton Running for U.S. Senate

PROVO, Utah — When asked about his decision to run for the U.S. Senate (representing Utah), Jason Walton reflected on his rise from a modest upbringing in rural Utah to the success he’s achieved as founder and CEO of Moxie Pest Control, a thriving $235 million-plus business operating in 19 states and expanding.

Jason and Kristen Walton

“My wife [Kristen] and I both received accounting degrees from BYU [Brigham Young University] and then afterwards we started a pest control company literally out of our garage,” Walton told PCT, recalling the days of service technicians showing up every morning to their house to pick up products and fill up sprayers. “So, without taking on outside investors, we've now built it into a family of pest control companies that is one of the largest in the United States.”

That story is what Walton thinks is resonating with constituents. “What they are saying is ‘The last thing we need is another politician.’ They want a businessperson who knows something about budgeting, and bootstrapping, and starting something out of the garage and making it into something.”

Walton’s journey is not unlike other PCOs in that he didn’t plan on a career in pest control. He paid his way through college working for Eclipse Marketing, which contracted with other pest control companies to sell services using door-to-door sales professionals. While in college, he moved through the ranks at Eclipse, becoming vice president and making six figures by the time he graduated.

Walton considered pursuing his MBA immediately after college, but, he said, “I grew up poor and didn’t want to end up with crushing debt, so I started a pest control company.” He and Kristen moved to Dallas, and founded Mayday Pest Control, which he co-owned/operated for two-and-a-half years before selling to his partner. In December 2000, he launched Moxie Pest Control. “I took everything I learned in three years and – now that I was on my own – did it better within four months. It was the first time I self-actualized as an entrepreneur.” 

 

Walton launched the first Moxie location in Dallas and quickly expanded to Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Atlanta. Along the way, he instituted a shared ownership model whereby employees could open branches with Walton. Loyal, hard-working employees became his business partners with their own sweat as equity and funded by Walton. Together they built pest control branches one location at a time. "The goal was not to build a big pest control company — it was to give back to employees who were loyal to me," Walton said.  “The main focus over my 30-year career is principle-centered leadership. I like to think I'm making the world a better place not just because of pest control, but because I get to interact with, train, and mentor all these wonderful people."  

As anyone who has ever pursued political office can attest, there is never a perfect time personally and professionally to take this leap, but Walton is confident that Moxie Owner Tim Headrick can take the reins should he get elected. “We have unbelievable people at Moxie. Tim is exceptionally competent and we have multiple people who can take on those leadership roles. So, I am in a very, very good position to move forward and help this country.”

And Walton wants to help the pest control industry. As the longtime leader of Moxie, he has had a first-row seat in dealing with overly burdensome pesticide regulations and other government decisions that have impacted pest control businesses. “During COVID, we put out over one thousand job offers and couldn't hire because the federal government was paying people more money not to work. I never thought I would compete against my own government, which was paying people not to work and not to be productive.”  

The pest control industry has had some past representation in Washington, including Tom DeLay (R-TX) and Bob Dold (R-IL), PCOs who served in the U.S. House of Representatives. If elected, it's believed Walton would be the first to serve in the U.S. Senate — something that is not lost on him.

“It’s been great knowing that all my brothers and sisters in the pest control industry are on my team, and will help send one of their own to Washington,” Walton said.

The next big date for Walton is April 27, which is the Utah Republican Party Convention, followed by the June 25 primary.

For those interested in learning more about Walton and his campaign visit https://waltonforsenate.com and follow him on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.