JoAnna Mendoza, a Democrat and retired Marine, ousted Representative Juan Ciscomani, a two-term Republican, in a competitive southeastern Arizona district, according to The Associated Press on Thursday, handing her party a crucial seat to expand its House majority.
Mr. Ciscomani, elected to Congress in 2022, had been one of House Republicans’ top recruits. He highlighted a personal narrative grounded in a belief in the American dream, recalling how he and his father, who immigrated from Mexico, used to wash expensive cars to help make ends meet.
But Mr. Ciscomani was ultimately unable to overcome a brutal national landscape of voter discontent with rising prices driven by President Trump’s policies, including the war with Iran and tariffs. And Ms. Mendoza hammered him relentlessly for his vote for Republicans’ marquee tax and spending cut legislation that included slashing Medicaid and a nutrition assistance program for low-income people.
In the closing days of the campaign, Mr. Ciscomani had insisted in a direct-to-camera advertisement that he was “not a rubber stamp for anyone.” But he had done little to distance himself from Mr. Trump, repeatedly voting against efforts to end the war in Iran or cancel tariffs against Canada and Mexico, and supporting the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill.
Republicans had hoped that voters would reward them for enacting that measure, which limited taxes on tips and overtime. But with costs soaring, even those benefits had appeared to fall flat with some voters who said they still had trouble making ends meet.
Mr. Ciscomani’s pitch that Ms. Mendoza would raise taxes, citing her work as the executive director of a group advocating a more progressive tax policy in Arizona, failed to win over voters amid broader concerns about the price of gasoline and food.
Ms. Mendoza, in turn, weaponized Mr. Ciscomani’s voting record against him. She also leaned heavily into her own unique biography: Ms. Mendoza is a single mother who grew up in rural poverty and relied on food stamps, served two tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, survived two sexual assaults and struggled with substance abuse.
“We can start lowering costs by actually reversing all of the tax cuts to billionaires that my opponent voted for,” Ms. Mendoza said during a debate in September. “We reinstate programs like SNAP, programs that I used as a young child growing up.”
Democrats had targeted Mr. Ciscomani’s seat ever since he won it in 2022, flipping a seat that had been vacated by a Democrat. He won re-election in 2024 in a rematch by just three points.
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