Massive congressional district back on the table after anti-Trump protests sweep Arizona

Democrats on Tuesday added US Rep. Eli Crane to the list of Republican congressmen they plan to unseat in their bid to retake control of the US House in 2026.

The announcement came after a weekend of protests over the Trump administration’s handling of the economy, immigration, and the dismantling of the federal government. Voters also expressed frustration in Congress’ failure to check the president’s power, allowing him to usurp the legislative branch’s responsibility over the federal budget and the judiciary’s duty to ensure due process and maintain the rule of law.

Crane joins Republican US Reps. David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani as vulnerable to losing their seats in Congress. Schweikert’s East Valley district has long been a target for Democrats, who narrowly won re-election the past two terms. Southern Arizona’s Ciscomani similarly eeked out a slim victory against his opponent in 20222 and 2024, though his support nearly doubled once he gained the benefit of incumbency.

Crane’s district is one of the largest in the country: it covers 12 Indian reservations, touches nine of Arizona’s 15 counties, several national forests, and is home to Flagstaff, Payson, Prescott, and the entire northeastern quadrant of the state.

While Crane won with a comfortable lead in 2024, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believed him to be as vulnerable as his counterparts in Scottsdale and Tucson. DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene said their support of President Donald Trump and his inefficiency czar Elon Musk’s reckless dismantling of the federal government have resulted in a groundswell of dissatisfaction.

“David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomani are running scared, and they should be,” said DelBene. “From tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, to making everything more expensive, they’ve broken their promises to Arizonans, and it’s going to cost them their seats.”

All three have voted for unpopular legislation they had previously railed against, but helped pass when it was clear the alternative would be standing in opposition to Trump. In February, Schweikert voted to pass a federal budget he had previously described as an “immoral” proposal that would doom the United States to financial ruin.

“It would be immoral, I believe, to allow the tax rates to go up on working people. But it’s also immoral not to find a way to pay for it,” said Schweikert. “Are you ready to condemn this country in nine budget years—10 calendar years— to functionally, financial Armageddon?”

Ciscomani and Crane approved the budget as well, despite concerns that it would cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over the course of a decade, and diminish federal tax revenue by over $4 trillion. Of that, $3.7 trillion of those tax savings would go to the country’s wealthiest 10% — households making more than $230,000 per year.