JoAnna Mendoza spent 20 years in the US Navy and Marine Corps. Now, the Democrat is drawing from her experience serving, and her years advocating for veterans, in her challenge to US Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Tucson) in southern Arizona’s 6th Congressional District.
The district, spanning parts of Tucson, Eloy, Sierra Vista, Casa Grande, and more, is one of the most competitive races in the country. Ciscomani narrowly won the district in 2024 and 2022, and Cook Political Report calls the race a “toss-up”.
In 2016, Mendoza returned home to Arizona from her tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. She began working as a staffer for former Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-Sedona), the Blue Dog Democrat who represented Arizona’s 1st Congressional District from 2017 to 2023 before 2022 redistricting.
It was while working in O’Halleran’s office that Mendoza gained exposure to the political world and was able to act on causes that mattered most to her. She spent time “helping veterans and their families access benefits that they have earned,” she said in an interview with Copper Courier.
After her time working for O’Halleran, Mendoza turned to nonprofit advocacy to continue supporting veterans.
“I did some nonprofit work focused on helping families and programs they use, and military families, especially,” Mendoza said. “Some of your junior enlisted folks have to rely on these programs because they still don’t get paid enough.”
Mendoza said her background would be part of a proud history of veterans working in the federal government.
“There has been a long history of veterans serving this country in government,” she said. “Our very first president, George Washington, was a veteran.”
Mendoza’s background is what differentiates her from her opponent, she said.
“There’s a lot of differences between myself and Mr. Ciscomani, but I’ve got a lifetime of service to this country,” Mendoza said. “I took an oath, not only to protect the homeland, but to uphold our Constitution—and it didn’t expire.”
What issues are most important for veterans?
Veterans are at the center of Mendoza’s campaign, and she said one of the top issues weighing on them is the Iran war. “We have a responsibility to make sure that we’re not just sending America’s sons and daughters into harm’s way for no reason,” she said.
Mendoza also criticized the war for driving up costs for Arizonans. Gas prices are one way voters are feeling the pain in their wallet. Prices are up 9% nationwide since August, reaching a 4-month high in September.
Gas prices sat at over $4.50 a gallon in Arizona as of early October, according to AAA, while they were below $3 a gallon in January, before the Iran war.
The war has directly cost the US more than $38B so far. Inflation is projected to further increase into 2027, according to a September report from the Congressional Budget Office.
Mendoza’s opponent, the incumbent Juan Ciscomani, has voted against multiple resolutions aimed at reining in President Donald Trump’s war-time powers.
“He said he was in full support of the president’s agenda there,” Mendoza said. “There’s no plan. There’s no measure of success. There is no idea of when this thing is going to end.”
Ciscomani’s office did not reply to a request for comment.
Mendoza said military voters are worried about government corruption, citing Trump’s use of taxpayer funds “to enrich himself and his buddies” and “air political campaign ads on TV using hard-earned taxpayer dollars.”
She also pointed to health care, saying the government must make sure it is fulfilling its promises to our veterans and their families.
Health care is an especially pressing concern for veterans, given the longer wait times and accessibility barriers of the VA healthcare system in recent years, made worse by deep cuts to the VA workforce.
One veteran staffer, Tom Davis, recently resigned from Ciscomani’s Veteran Advisory Council, citing a lack of action on fighting cuts at the VA health care system. Davis, who is retired, served in the Army for 32 years on active duty.
How does Mendoza’s background shape her perspective on the Iran War and foreign policy?
For Mendoza, the Iran war is about more than increased costs: she’s also worried about the human toll. The latest Pentagon report shows the US death toll in the conflict rising to 21, with over 860 injuries.
“In this district, we have 80,000 veterans who call AZ-06 home,” she said. “I have spoken to parents, both liberal and conservative parents, who are terrified that their kids are going to come back in flag-draped coffins.”
Mendoza deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, and she knows what an open-ended war can look like.
“We were there for 20 years occupying that space,” she said.
Mendoza said she sees her own military experience reflected in the troops coming from similar Southern Arizona places and backgrounds to her own.
“It’s kids from small rural farming communities like the one that I grew up in, in Eloy, that are volunteering and enlisting in the military, and those are the kids that are out there right now,” she said.
That background, Mendoza said, is what keeps her focused.
“I’m staying laser-focused on what matters, because right now we have the mission to bring relief to people here in the district,” she said.
