CD6’s players, people and politics

It is going to be a long year.

Now that the special election in Congressional District 7 is behind us, our primary focus turns to Southern Arizona’s other congressional district.¹

The race for Congressional District 6 — which is represented by Republican Juan Ciscomani and spans southeastern Arizona, including most of the north and east sides of Tucson — began in earnest a few months ago.

At the time, with the election more than a year away, we thought it was a kindness not to spend too much time covering what will likely be a very intense contest that will attract national attention.

What’s ahead for us voters in CD6?

Think phalanxes of door-to-door campaigns lining up in neighborhoods every weekend, an onslaught of digital ads and printed fliers and the occasional flyover from Air Force One.

The top two candidates have already raised more than $2 million combined in political contributions, and the year isn’t even over. More on that in a minute.

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The Democrats

First thing you need to know is that the race in CD6 will be far more competitive than the one in CD7.

The main drama in CD7 came during the Democratic primary. While social media consultant Deja Foxx shook up the race,² a large chunk of the Arizona political establishment lined up behind Adelita Grijalva to help her secure the Democratic nomination.

The Democratic primary in CD6 is sure to be dramatic. But at the moment, there seems to be a clear frontrunner, and the field is narrowing accordingly.

Well-known immigration attorney Mo Goldman announced in April that he was running. Then he dropped out in August.

Raytheon engineer Chris Donat also dropped out a few weeks ago.

There are three Democrats still in the race by the Federal Election Commission’s standards.³

Left to Right: JoAnna Mendoza, Jonathan Buma and Samantha Severson.

The three remaining Democrats who want to challenge Ciscomani are: former FBI whistleblower Jonathan Buma,⁴ former Marine JoAnna Mendoza, and higher ed administrator Samantha Severson.

But one candidate stands out.

As of July, Mendoza had raised over $1.25 million in political contributions.

While she’s hardly a household name, Mendoza has won endorsements from Sen. Mark Kelly, benefited from a wave of donations from groups supporting veterans running for Congress, and attracted established donors who remember her run for a statehouse seat in Legislative District 11 in 2020.

As we keep saying, it’s still early. A candidate who can self-fund or knows how to raise millions of dollars, especially with high name recognition, could still enter the race.

But as of today, Mendoza is the easy favorite.

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The incumbent

A two-term Republican, Ciscomani has proven popular in GOP circles, defeating former state Rep. Kirsten Engel in both 2022 and 2024.

But Trump’s return to the White House this January has changed Ciscomani’s public profile. He’s the highest-ranking Republican in Southern Arizona and now he’s on the hook for implementing Trump’s agenda.

Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” unpopular executive orders, DEI cuts, DOGE meddling, and high-profile ICE raids have led to weekly protests outside Ciscomani’s office.

Ciscomani has not held a true public town hall in years, preferring tightly controlled meetings in secured locations and the occasional telephone town hall. Yet, to his credit, he does maintain an active calendar if you track his socials. (We’re just never invited to those meetings.)

It’s easy to see how high the stakes will be in every race as Democrats try to take control of the House, which would allow them to put the brakes on most of Trump’s legislative agenda.

If you care about healthcare costs, unpredictable tariffs, and other recent executive orders, then you’ll want to keep an eye on the race in CD6.

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The district

CD6 (and its predecessor before redistricting) has always been a politically competitive area.

It’s Democrat Gabby Giffords’ old district, and Republican Martha McSally’s, too. Typically, the party not in the White House gains an advantage in midterm elections, so this year’s election is especially important.

If you squint, Congressional District 6 kinda looks like a flying squirrel.

Democrats are seeking to ride another Blue Wave in 2026, and Ciscomani is on their shortlist of Republicans to defeat.

The district leans Republican, but not by much: 36% of voters are registered Republicans, 33% independents, and 30% Democrats.

Already, the district has hosted rallies from Sen. Bernie Sanders, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, signaling a tough fight ahead for the two-term Republican. Another group has been holding town halls in his district featuring local elected Democrats, with a life-sized cardboard cutout of Ciscomani “standing” nearby.

But the district is not a monolith. Liberals in Bisbee live alongside conservative ranchers in Cochise County, with a healthy libertarian streak throughout the area.

And ultimately, who represents southeastern Arizona after the next election will come down to turnout, and who can win over the narrow slice of voters who haven’t already made up their minds.

Editor’s note: We had mentioned this morning about Aiden Swallow’s CD6 run, she recently announced she is running for a seat in legislative district 19.

1. Although before long, Grijalva will need to launch her re-election campaign in CD7 — that special election only gets her the seat until next year.

2. During the CD7 primary, Foxx told a Sierra Vista newspaper she might consider running in CD6. So far, she hasn’t.

3. We’d like to note that the FEC’s standards for calling someone a candidate are pretty damn weak: You just need to file paperwork and open a bank account. Our metric is a little higher: You need to show up to Democratic events and get the signatures to qualify for the ballot.

4. Worth noting: Burma was arrested at JFK Airport earlier this year on a warrant for allegedly disclosing confidential information.