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Arizona Democrat launches bid to avenge tight loss in one of nation's most competitive House seats [1]

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Date: 2023-04-12  

National Republicans quickly identified Ciscomani, who was a former senior adviser to then-Gov. Doug Ducey, as a key recruit and rising star, and the Congressional Leadership Fund even spent $1 million to ensure he defeated a primary foe backed by far-right figures. And until Election Day, it looked like Ciscomani was on track to decisively win in what both parties expected would be a GOP wave year.

Pessimistic Democratic groups gradually canceled their TV reservations and redirected the money to what they believed were more competitive races, though their better-funded GOP counterparts still deployed millions to help their recruit. Ultimately, CLF and its allies at the NRCC threw down a total of $4.7 million to aid Ciscomani, while the Democratic House Majority PAC expended all of $73,000.

It was therefore a huge surprise when early tabulations showed Ciscomani with a slim edge, and he ended up prevailing just 51-49 when all the ballots were counted. That huge Republican resource advantage may have made all the difference in a year where Arizona’s two leading Democrats ended up far outperforming Biden in this constituency. Sen. Mark Kelly, according to Bloomberg’s Greg Giroux, took the 6th District 54-44, while Katie Hobbs won 52-48 here in her successful contest for governor.

That near-miss, though, didn’t prevent Ciscomani from emerging as a GOP rising star. The new incumbent, who is the first Republican Latino to represent the Grand Canyon State in Congress, was mentioned as a possible Senate candidate even before he was sworn in. He went on to deliver the party’s Spanish-language response to the State of the Union. The freshman hasn’t outright ruled out a campaign for the upper chamber next year, though he sounds far more likely to defend his competitive House seat.

Engel, for her part, kicked off her rematch by trying to shred the pragmatic image Ciscomani built up during their 2022 matchup. “[W]hat we are seeing from the congressional Republicans—and Juan Ciscomani is in there supporting them—they are attacking access to abortion, they are rolling back our efforts to fight the climate crisis, and work which is fundamental to working on our water issues,” the Democrat said. She added, “We need to take this seat back and put somebody in there, me, who will fight for our freedom to choose when, if, and how to start a family.”

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/12/2163532/-Arizona-Democrat-launches-bid-to-avenge-tight-loss-in-one-of-nation-s-most-competitive-House-seats

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