He drafted a number of bills while serving in the House, most notably the Privacy Act of 1974, which prevents the distribution of private information from government and businesses.

With his district merged with that of Bobbi Fiedler due to redistricting after the 1980 census, Goldwater retired from the House to run for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 1982.

He lost the primary to San Diego Mayor Pete Wilson, who would go on to win the general election and who eventually became governor.

[citation needed] On November 16, 2007, Goldwater endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul of Texas for the GOP nomination in 2008.

[1] On January 5, 2008, Goldwater announced he would go to New Hampshire to campaign for Paul,[2] after the latter's 10% showing in the Iowa caucuses two days earlier.

In the same policy area, the Goldwater Institute, a non-profit political think tank which studies and publishes findings on public policies that align with the conservative values promoted by Goldwater's father, "sued to have [Arizona]'s renewable energy standards and tariffs throw[n] out in a move that would have slowed solar development to a crawl".

[6] After retiring from politics, Goldwater returned to Los Angeles and pursued a career in the financial sector, specializing in security law and underwriting.

Goldwater generally supports legislation and policies that embrace economic independence, individual rights, and limited government.

[citation needed] He maintains contact with Republican and Democratic leaders, as well as celebrity activists, and is still active in the conservative political movement.