Engel, Ciscomani to face off in competitive Congressional District 6

Democrat Kirsten Engel and Republican Juan Ciscomani each won their party’s primary on Tuesday night to run in the Nov. 8 midterms to represent U.S. Congressional District 6, which covers a swath of Tucson.

Engel won the Democratic primary with nearly 60% of the vote against two opponents. State Rep. Daniel Hernandez had more than 34% of the vote.

If she wins in November, Engel plans to work in Congress on the economy, job creation, bringing down inflation, water issues, climate change and reproductive rights, she told the Star on Tuesday night.

“Reproductive health care rights are really at the top of the ticket right now, and that is something that I will be a very strong advocate for in Congress,” she said.

Engel is a well-known Democrat who has represented Tucson for years in the Legislature.

Engel most recently represented Legislative District 10 in the Arizona Senate. She held that position from January 2021 to September when she left to focus on her congressional campaign. Before that she served two terms as a District 10 state representative. As well, Engel is an environmental attorney.

Other top issues include access to quality affordable health care, investing in both physical and social infrastructure development, and strengthening Social Security and Medicare.

Find more about Engel at engelforarizona.com.

In the Republican primary, Ciscomani won with more than 46% of the vote against four opponents.

“Tonight’s victory is not for any one person,” Ciscomani said to about 175 supporters during an acceptance speech at his campaign headquarters in Tucson on Tuesday night. “It’s a victory for Arizona. It’s a victory for our country because we’re just 98 days away from finally making Nancy Pelosi a former speaker of the House.”

He said Congress needs to deal with inflation, the high cost of gas and oil, the high cost of living and border security.

“This is a national security issue as much as it is a humanitarian issue,” he said. “This administration has not only created this crisis, but they’ve decided to ignore it. We need people in D.C. who are going to take these issues seriously.”

Ciscomani is a senior advisor to Gov. Doug Ducey on regional and international affairs. He previously served as a senior program development specialist at the University of Arizona and was vice president of outreach for the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Other top issues include election integrity, Second Amendment rights, supporting first responders and veterans, energy independence, being anti-abortion, First Amendment rights.

Find out more about Ciscomani at juanciscomani.com.

The newly drawn CD6 stretches from midtown Tucson through Graham and Greenlee counties and most of Cochise County and up into Casa Grande. It is considered to be a highly competitive district nationally that could be won by either party in November.

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U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, currently holds the seat in what used to be CD2 before this year’s redistricting. She did not run for reelection. CD2 was long known as a competitive district, being held by a Republican or a Democrat in recent years.

Pozzolo wins CD7 GOP primary to face Grijalva

Republican Luis Pozzolo won Tuesday night’s U.S. Congressional District 7 primary, to run against longtime U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva in the Nov. 8 midterms.

He won with nearly 68% of the vote over one opponent, Nina Becker.

Pozzolo immigrated to the U.S. in 2003 from Uruguay and became a U.S. citizen in 2012. He is a small-business owner.

His top issues include creating jobs and lowering unemployment, supporting the mining industry and oil industry, school choice, border security, stopping “hardline socialist policies,” “traditional family values,” trade, and law and order.

To find out more about Pozzolo go to luis4congress.com.

CD7, formally CD3, is held by Grijalva, who has held the seat since winning it in 2002. He is known for being an outspoken progressive, with a long history in the Tucson community. Before winning national office, Grijalva served 12 years on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and 15 years on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

His top issues include immigration reform, access to health care, criminal justice, education, the environment, jobs and the economy, civil rights and liberties, and much more.

To find out more about Grijalva go to grijalva.house.gov.

The newly drawn CD7 includes the west half of Tucson, the Tohono O’odham Nation and parts of Cochise County and runs all the way west to Yuma, north into Phoenix’s western suburbs and south to Nogales.

Crane wins CD2 GOP primary to face O’Halleran

Small-business owner Eli Crane won Tuesday night’s U.S. Congressional District 2 GOP primary, to run against longtime U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran in the Nov. 8 midterms.

He won with nearly 34% of the vote over six opponents.

The new Congressional District 2, formally CD 1, which now includes a northern slice of Tucson and stretches into the northeast part of the state, including Prescott and Flagstaff. The seat is currently held by U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran, who ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.