“Take it from Juan Ciscomani himself: he has repeatedly voted to hurt his own constituents. Southern Arizonans deserve a representative who keeps their word and is loyal to the working families they represent, not to D.C. party leaders. Former Marine Corps Drill Instructor JoAnna Mendoza is a patriot who’s dedicated her life to serving her country. She’s running for Congress to finally put Southern Arizona first – to lower costs, create good jobs, and keep communities safe,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene.
__
To: Interested Parties
From: Lindsay Reilly, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: July 21, 2026
Subject: The Case Against Juan Ciscomani
Juan Ciscomani has established a clear track record as a Republican Party puppet who consistently prioritizes D.C. party bosses over the needs of Southern Arizonans. The second highest recipient of House GOP leaders’ campaign cash last year, Ciscomani votes 100% of the time with Trump and House leadership on everything from gutting Arizonans’ health care, to protecting cost-hiking tariffs, to greenlighting a war of choice in Iran. Ciscomani’s inability to withstand party pressure is so pronounced that he has repeatedly blasted legislation as harmful to Southern Arizonans, only to vote for the bills anyway – with top advisors admitting he is simply “not accustomed” to bucking Republican Party leadership, leaving his community to pay the price.
Tragically for the voters of Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, Ciscomani’s tenure has been defined by a series of high-profile betrayals that are raising costs on families. Despite explicitly promising that he “cannot and will not” cut Medicaid due to the pain it would cause rural and Hispanic communities, Ciscomani cast the deciding vote to gut the program in order to fund tax cuts for billionaires. He repeated this pattern of cowardice by going back on his word to protect both the Affordable Care Act and clean energy tax credits, backing reckless tariffs that are jacking up prices on families and small businesses, and going entirely silent on his promised support for veterans, military families, and even DACA recipients as his party attacks them.
In stark contrast to Ciscomani’s party-line allegiance, retired Marine Corps Drill Instructor JoAnna Mendoza offers a lifetime of dedicated service and an unyielding commitment to the Constitution. The daughter of farmworkers, JoAnna grew up on Medicaid and SNAP and understands the challenges everyday Arizonans are facing. After a childhood of working in Arizona’s cotton fields to help her family make ends meet, JoAnna joined the military to escape rural poverty. A U.S. Navy and Marine Corps veteran, JoAnna served for roughly twenty years, including on multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, before returning to Arizona to raise her son as a single mom. Driven by an oath of service that she says “never expires,” JoAnna is a fierce champion for Arizona families. She’s running for Congress to lower costs, create good-paying jobs, and keep communities safe.
Democrats have a proven path to victory in Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District: Senator Ruben Gallego won it by six points in 2024, while both Governor Katie Hobbs carried it by four and Senator Mark Kelly carried it by a whopping 10 points in 2022. In an election year defined by Ciscomani’s repeated betrayals hurting voters, and a formidable opponent in Marine Corps veteran JoAnna Mendoza, AZ-06 is poised to flip from red to blue this November.
A Corrupt Republican Party Puppet Who Puts D.C. Leaders First and Counts Ethically-Compromised Colleagues as his Closest Friends
A former longtime GOP operative, Juan Ciscomani is only loyal to the Republican Party and its leaders – not to Southern Arizonans. Ciscomani ran for Congress after years of working to advance GOP politics. Once elected, he immediately got started rubber-stamping D.C. Republicans’ reckless, cost-hiking agenda. Named one of the “most corrupt politicians” in the country, Ciscomani has a clear track record of “rel[ying] heavily on campaign money from party leaders” and voting for legislation he admitted hurts Southern Arizona. Ciscomani received nearly $1 million from D.C. party bosses in 2025 alone, “the second most of any other Republican incumbent outside of House leadership” – a telling sum that helps explain his disastrous anti-Arizona voting record.
At the same time he’s taking their campaign cash, Ciscomani is voting 100% of the time with Donald Trump and GOP leadership. Ciscomani’s consistent party-line votes are especially notable because he, on more than one occasion, blasted legislation for being harmful to his constituents before, of course, bending the knee and voting for it anyway. After Ciscomani broke his promise to fight for health care subsidies that help Arizonans afford insurance, a top Ciscomani advisor told the Arizona Republic that Ciscomani is “not accustomed” to going against “leadership.” Ciscomani’s reluctance to cross the D.C. leaders who fund his campaign could explain why he voted for the largest cuts to Medicaid in history despite vowing he “cannot and will not” cut Medicaid, why he voted for clean energy tax credits that he admitted “jeopardize[d]” his district, and why – in Ciscomani’s own words – he feels it is not his “job” to hold the President accountable.
In addition to being a “top recipient” of campaign cash from GOP leaders, Ciscomani has repeatedly taken money from “three disgraced lawmakers” that he refused to hold accountable. Ciscomani accepted $30,000 from “predator” Tony Gonzales, a Texas lawmaker who had an affair with a staffer who later took her own life by setting herself on fire. Ciscomani and Gonzales often touted their close relationship, calling each other “bestie,” “brother,” and “the real deal” on social media and campaigning together in Tucson, raising further questions about Ciscomani’s judgement. Unlike other Republicans, Ciscomani refused to condemn Gonzales’ affair or urge him to drop his re-election bid. In a similar vein, Ciscomani received $8,000 from Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards, who is currently under an ethics investigation for allegedly harassing two women staffers. Ciscomani also accepted thousands from Republican Congressman Max Miller, who has been accused of domestic violence. Multiple outlets report that Ciscomani has not returned any of the money to Gonzales, Edwards, or Miller.
In stark contrast to Ciscomani, JoAnna Mendoza has made clear her allegiance is to the Constitution – not to a political party or D.C. leaders. A Marine veteran who wears her patriotism on her sleeve, JoAnna is running because her oath of service never expires.
A Flip-Flopping Fraud Who Keeps Breaking His Promises to Southern Arizonans
If there’s one thing Southern Arizonans can count on from Juan Ciscomani, it’s that he’ll break his promises to them to please D.C. party bosses. After spending months declaring he “cannot and will not” cut Medicaid because doing so, in his words, “would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities,” Ciscomani cast the deciding vote to gut Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. Ciscomani voted for even deeper cuts to Medicaid a few weeks later, despite stating that the bill he ultimately voted for “threatens access to coverage” “for vulnerable individuals” and “jeopardizes the stability of our hospitals and providers.” Even though the legislation had zero changes from when Ciscomani bashed it, he ultimately said he was “proud of the vote [he] took.” JoAnna Mendoza has wasted no time blasting Ciscomani for his betrayal. The daughter of farmworkers, JoAnna grew up on Medicaid and attributes the program to allowing her to grow up healthy and strong enough to serve her country in the U.S. Navy and Marines for nearly twenty years.
Ciscomani’s Medicaid flipflop “sparked public outcry in Tucson” and among Southern Arizonans, who filled local opinion pages with testimonials about how Ciscomani promised them he wouldn’t cut health care, then did it anyway. In the words of AZ-06 voters, Ciscomani “violated his oath and betrayed the most vulnerable of his constituents” and “knew the risks… expressed concern… then he voted yes anyway.” Even a health care worker who met with and was personally assured by Ciscomani’s senior staff that the Congressman “would protect and not cut Medicaid” said he and a group of other providers “were lied to [to] our faces.”
Just like he did on Medicaid, Ciscomani made dire warnings about how failing to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits would hurt Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District. For months, Ciscomani warned of “massive” consequences and “real harm” for Arizonans if the tax credits expired, even going so far to say that “doing nothing is not an option.” True to form, Ciscomani then… did nothing. Ciscomani refused to join bipartisan efforts to protect his constituents’ health care and force the House to vote on extending the credits, even for a bill he previously said he supported. Ciscomani’s cowardice helped lead to more than 107,000 Arizonans losing their ACA insurance coverage this year – the third highest drop off in the nation.
Cisomani’s broken promises extend beyond health care. Ciscomani repeatedly vowed to protect DACA recipients because it’s an “issue that is near and dear to [his] heart and #AZ06,” but he’s since gone “silent” on protecting Dreamers and refuses to respond to recent questions on “whether he still support[s] a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients.” Ciscomani even declined to speak out after a Tucson Dreamer, also his constituent, was detained by immigration officials who “aggressively” entered her home without a warrant. Ciscomani’s inaction led his constituent to write him an open letter in the Arizona Daily Star about his broken promise to protect DACA recipients like her. Unlike Ciscomani, JoAnna is a staunch advocate for the rule of law who has refused to be silent, voicing her support for the Dreamer’s due process protections.
Ciscomani has also failed to live up to his promises to veterans and military families. Despite representing a district with the seventh largest veterans population in the U.S., Ciscomani refused to speak out after the Administration gutted tens of thousands of jobs at the VA. When repeatedly contacted for a reaction to the VA cuts, Ciscomani “did not respond” despite previously “h[olding] himself up as a champion of veterans.” Meanwhile, a U.S. Marine veteran herself, JoAnna blasted the cuts and Ciscomani’s silence, saying “veterans don’t need lip service, they need health care.” JoAnna similarly took the lead on protecting veterans when she spoke out against a Department of Veterans Affairs proposal to ban abortion nationwide at all VA hospitals with limited exceptions, a cause Ciscomani refused to comment on.
A Rubberstamp For A Reckless, Cost-Hiking Agenda That’s Crushing Southern Arizona
Juan Ciscomani is a reliable rubberstamp for an extreme, cost-hiking agenda that’s making life unaffordable for Southern Arizona families. Ciscomani cast a key vote for the Big, Ugly Bill that’s jacking up Arizonans’ health care costs and taking food out of hungry kids’ mouths to pay for permanent tax cuts for billionaires. Ciscomani’s health care cuts are estimated to kick more than 340,000 Arizonans off their health care, including nearly 35,000 people in Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District. Health care facilities in and around AZ-06 are on track to lose $110 million annually, a devastating blow that could force some clinics to reduce services, lay off staff, or close their doors altogether. Experts are warning that Ciscomani’s health care cuts “could lead to the collapse of Arizona’s health care system,” the harms of which will be felt by “all patients,” regardless of their insurance.
Many Arizonans are already feeling the effects of Ciscomani’s cuts: Planned Parenthood Arizona stopped accepting Medicaid patients because of the Big, Ugly Bill, even for routine services like cancer screenings and other preventative care. At least ten Arizona health clinics have already or will soon shut down, while at least six additional facilities are at risk of closing. And more than 107,000 Arizonans already dropped their health insurance after Ciscomani refused to extend crucial tax credits that lowered premiums. Meanwhile, roughly half of all SNAP recipients in Arizona have been kicked off food assistance, including nearly 200,000 kids and 7% of all Pima County residents.
Ciscomani’s Big, Ugly Bill isn’t just jacking up food and health care costs: it’s also devastating for electricity prices and the tens of thousands of Arizonans working in the clean energy sector. Take it from Ciscomani himself: shortly after voting to gut clean energy tax credits that reportedly created “life-changing” jobs in his district, Ciscomani sent a letter to party leaders begging them to “substantively” change the bill he had already voted for. In Ciscomani’s own words, his vote “jeopardizes ongoing development, discourages long-term investment, and could significantly delay or cancel energy infrastructure projects across the country.” Unfortunately for Southern Arizona, Ciscomani’s prediction came true. Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors, which had “quadrupled” its presence in Casa Grande after the initial creation of the tax credits, recently announced they are laying off 18% of their workforce and slashing 705 jobs in Arizona. The job losses are expected to cause a ripple effect across Southern Arizona, with one local cafe owner warning that he relies on Lucid Motor employees for roughly 15% of his business.
At the same time Ciscomani is sacrificing jobs and signing off on higher electricity prices, he’s silent on the rise of data centers that could further jack up prices for families and threaten Arizona’s water security – even as data centers crop up in AZ-06. Ciscomani “has not publicly spoken about” data centers, leaving Southern Arizonans in the dark about where he stands on this crucial issue. JoAnna Mendoza has called out Ciscomani’s silence, saying he is “complicit because [he’s] said absolutely nothing” about Arizonans’ anxiety around data centers. JoAnna, in contrast, has been clear about the need to protect Arizona’s water supply and prevent Arizonans’ utility bills from skyrocketing as projects move forward.
Ciscomani’s price-hiking agenda has been a disaster for Arizona’s farmers and ranchers. Not only did Ciscomani vote against extending tax credits that roughly 1 in 4 farmers and ranchers depend on to afford health care, he voted nine times to protect reckless tariffs that are wreaking havoc on Arizona’s agricultural economy and driving up costs for families and small businesses. Ciscomani’s sweeping tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports in particular – two of the closest trading partners for Arizona – have created an even larger impact on Arizonans, who are left to pay even higher consumer prices as a result. Ciscomani even voted against a common-sense proposal to rein in tariffs that are raising food costs on Arizonans. At the same time he’s voting to protect cost-raising tariffs that hurt farmers and ranchers, Ciscomani failed to speak out against the Trump Administration’s proposal to import Argentinian beef – a betrayal that “sent shockwaves through an industry already navigating thin margins.” Ciscomani has also been a staunch defender of the Iran War, which is driving up costs on fertilizer, diesel, and gas, all of which Arizona farmers and ranchers – not to mention everyday families – depend on.
The daughter of farmworkers who grew up working in Arizona’s cotton fields, JoAnna Mendoza understands the challenges working Arizonans are working to overcome because politicians like Ciscomani are in their way. In Congress, she’ll make lowering costs for families and small businesses a priority and fight to rein in reckless tariffs, protect health care, lower electricity prices, and more.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
Arizona Mirror: Medicaid cuts backed by Juan Ciscomani will cost Southern Arizona hospitals $110 M every year [Arizona Mirror, 1/8/26]
“Tucson Republican U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani had drawn a line in the sand, saying he couldn’t vote for a budget bill that cut Medicaid. Five weeks later, he strolled across that line, voting for a Trump-endorsed spending plan that cuts nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid.”
“A week later, he visited a rural hospital in his Southern Arizona district that is expected to lose over $700,000 annually because of the cuts. That was one of several rural health care facilities — all of which are now facing losses of millions of dollars — he visited in the coming weeks, the Arizona Mirror found.”
Arizona Republic: Feds shortchanged Arizona on rural health dollars, Hobbs’ office says [Arizona Republic, 1/2/26]
“Ciscomani — widely seen as one of the most electorally vulnerable members of Congress — has pointed to the fund to defend his vote in favor of the Trump-backed budget […] Ciscomani, who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, told reporters in August he was confident that Arizona would be prioritized in the rural health fund negotiations. ‘We have been a force at the table on this issue,’ he said at the time.”
Tucson Sentinel: With SNAP cuts, Ciscomani’s big, bad vote is coming back to haunt him [Tucson Sentinel, 6/12/26]
“More than 7 percent of all Pima County residents lost their benefits to pay for tax cuts that mainly benefit the rich.”
E&E News: Megabill vote plagues Arizona moderate’s reelection fight [E&E News, 7/17/26]
“The sprawling 6th District has seen a clean energy boom in recent years fueled by tax incentives from the Democrats’ 2022 climate law. But Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani — seeking a third term — voted with nearly every member of his party last year to phase out those credits.”
KJZZ: ‘Tariffs hurt the American farmer’: Arizona agricultural leaders weigh in on Trump trade policies [KJZZ, 5/8/26]
KJZZ: Arizona gas prices could ‘set all-time records’ if Iran war drags on [KJZZ, 4/23/26]
KTAR News: High gas prices could cost Arizona candidates at ballot box, new poll shows [KTAR News, 5/20/26]
Arizona Mirror: Money from GOP leaders is flooding into two Arizona House races. Democrats say that’s telling. [Arizona Mirror, 3/20/26]
“[Ciscomani] has gotten nearly $1 million so far, the second most of any other Republican incumbent outside of House leadership.”
Tucson Sentinel: Az Democrats criticize Trump’s VA cuts, while Ciscomani is silent [Tucson Sentinel, 12/20/25]
“‘Veterans don’t need lip service, they need health care,’ said Mendoza, who spent 17 years as a Marine after serving three years in the Navy. ‘At a time when veterans are struggling to get the care they earned, Juan Ciscomani is once again missing in action.’”
Tucson Sentinel: Conservative poll shows GOP’s Ciscomani trailing Dem challenger Mendoza in CD6 [Tucson Sentinel, 4/29/26]
“Ciscomani, a Republican seeking a third term in Congressional District 6, had the support of 44 percent of the 400 CD6 voters who were surveyed, while Mendoza had 47 percent.”
“‘Ciscomani starts the race in a precarious position, with high name ID but also high unfavorables,’ the survey notes.”
POLITICO: Democratic House challenger in Arizona pulls in $2.3M quarterly haul [POLITICO, 4/3/26]
Tucson Sentinel: Tucson doctors & healthcare execs share troubling prognosis with Dem candidate Mendoza [Tucson Sentinel, 4/30/26]
“Mendoza held the roundtable discussion on Tuesday in a public meeting room of the Murphy-Wilmot Library, inviting members of the press to attend. Ciscomani held a closed-door meeting with area healthcare executives and controversial Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the beginning of April, putting out a press release after the event.”
New York Times: Arizona Democrat’s Tough Past Fuels Pitch for a Key House Seat [New York Times, 6/20/26]
“Growing up, Ms. Mendoza would wake at 4 o’clock on summer mornings and wait at a gas station with her parents for a bus to drive them to cotton fields where they would pick weeds with bare hands under the desert sun.”
“Her family never had a car. She remembers riding her pink bike to the grocery store with food stamps in her pocket and then home with plastic bags balanced on her handlebars.”
CNN: Democrats going after Trump’s megabill tell their own stories of needing Medicaid and other aid programs [CNN, 7/5/25]
“Arizona’s JoAnna Mendoza credits government assistance programs for allowing her to serve her country as a Marine.”
Reuters: Could a group of women veteran ‘Hellcats’ help Democrats flip the House in 2026? [Reuters, 12/22/25]
“‘Veterans are mission-focused,’ said Mendoza, 49. ‘You don’t ask the person to your left or right what their political affiliation is. You work through issues, find compromise, and accomplish the mission.’”
POLITICO: Democrats reclaim the American flag [POLITICO, 6/13/25]
“Mendoza said she deliberately chose her campaign colors to be red, white and blue to make a point that ‘they don’t own it, and we have to take it back.’”
PATH TO VICTORY
Labeled a toss-up by independent race raters Cook Political Report and Inside Elections, Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District is one of the most competitive House seats in the country. Democrats have a proven path to winning the district: Senator Ruben Gallego won it by six points in 2024, while both Governor Katie Hobbs carried it by four and Senator Mark Kelly carried it by a whopping 10 points in 2022.
A strong candidate who “checks so many boxes it almost feels out of a movie,” JoAnna Mendoza poses a potent threat to an increasingly vulnerable Juan Ciscomani. As a Marine veteran, JoAnna can relate to the more than 80,000 veterans Ciscomani has betrayed in AZ-06, which has the seventh largest veterans population in the country. JoAnna is also a single mom who grew up on Medicaid and SNAP in rural Arizona, making her a powerful voice to hold Ciscomani accountable for gutting Arizonans’ health care and food assistance to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.
All polling released so far shows JoAnna leading Ciscomani, including a survey conducted by a conservative pollster in April. One of the top fundraisers on the entire House battlefield, JoAnna has also repeatedly outraised Ciscomani, including by a 2 to 1 margin for the past two quarters in a row, including in the first quarter of 2026 when she hauled in $2.4 million to his $1.1 million. A first time federal candidate, JoAnna has already raised more money than Ciscomani – a two term incumbent – this cycle. JoAnna was also the first candidate to go up on broadcast, communicating her message in both English and Spanish to a district that is roughly 20% Hispanic or Latino. With a better message, stronger profile, and the resources she needs to keep communicating to voters, JoAnna Mendoza is on strong footing to win in November.
###