US Reps. Ciscomani, Schweikert face well-funded Democrats in 2026 midterms

WASHINGTON – The three Arizona Republicans whose U.S. House seats the Democrats hope to nab next year hold comfortable fundraising leads, midyear campaign filings show.

Democrats are targeting Reps. David Schweikert of Fountain Hills, Juan Ciscomani of Tucson and Eli Crane of Oro Valley.

Ciscomani has raised $2.3 million compared to $1.3 million for one of the Democrats seeking to take him on, JoAnna Mendoza, a Marine veteran and former congressional staffer.

“He starts off in a very good place financially,” said Matthew Klein, an analyst at the Cook Political Report.

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Ciscomani won his second term last November by 3 percentage points, the narrowest margin among the six Arizona Republicans in the U.S. House.

That was a costly race: He raised $7 million. Democratic challenger Kristen Engel raised $8.5 million.

Ciscomani’s campaign touted a blowout quarter, though the $1,050,000 he raised from March 1 to June 30 is $200,000 less than he raised in the first three months of the year.

Mendoza’s campaign boasted that she received donations from more than 60,000 individuals.

“We are well on our way to retiring Juan Ciscomani and bringing servant leadership back to government,” her campaign said Wednesday.

Given the advantages of incumbency, Klein said, “Every dollar is crucial on the Democratic side.”

The Cook Political Report rates the Schweikert and Ciscomani races as toss-ups, thanks in part to the traditional headwinds the president’s party faces in midterms.

In midterm elections, the president’s party has lost House seats all but three times since the Great Depression – in 1934, 1998 and 2002. Democrats would need to flip a handful of seats to retake the majority.

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“This probably is shaping up to look like a fairly traditional midterm election,” Klein said. “That doesn’t mean Democrats are going to pick up every seat that they want … but that does mean that they might have a little bit of a leg up in some of the seats that they were targeting in 2024.”

Schweikert fended off his challenger last November by 3.8 percentage points, winning his eighth term, even though Democrat Amish Shah outraised him $5.8 million to $4.2 million.

So far in the 2026 cycle, Schweikert has raised about $1.6 million. That includes $736,000 in the three months ending June 30, down $109,000 from the first quarter.

The leading Democrat in fundraising, businessman Jonathan Treble, raised $329,000. Treble also loaned his campaign $672,000, putting his tally over $1 million.

“Arizona Congressional Republicans delivered another strong fundraising quarter where they significantly outraised their Democrat opponents and built their war chests,” said Ben Petersen, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s House campaign arm. “This powerful fundraising makes clear Arizonans are fired up to re-elect Representatives David Schweikert and Juan Ciscomani.”

Crane appears less vulnerable at the moment. Cook rates his seat as competitive but likely Republican.

Democrat Jonathan Nez, a former Navajo Nation president who lost to Crane by 9 percentage points last November, has raised less than $100,000 this cycle, compared to $2.4 million for Crane, and has not yet said whether he will seek a rematch.

Both spent lavishly last fall. Crane raised a whopping $8.6 million. Nez raised $5.5 million.

“No amount of money from D.C. Party Bosses is going to save David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomani’s political careers,” said Lindsey Reilly, spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the NRCC’s counterpart.

Referring to the One Big Beautiful Bill that Trump signed July 4, she added, “Schweikert, Crane, and Ciscomani betrayed Arizonans – and voters will fire them for it next year.”

In Tuesday’s special Democratic primary for the seat left vacant by the death of longtime congressman Raul Grijalva of Tucson, Adelia Grijalva – his daughter – won easily with 62% of the vote, trouncing Deja Foxx (21%) and Hernandez (14%).

Grijalva and Hernandez each raised about $1,030,000 as of last week. Foxx raised $600,000.

Grijalva is heavily favored to win a September special general election to fill the remainder of her father’s term. Democrats dominate the district, which covers most of the state’s border with Mexico.

For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.