Ciscomani overtakes Engel in race too close to call

Ciscomani, after trailing Democratic former state senator Kirsten Engel, took a very slim 417-vote lead late Wednesday afternoon in Arizona’s Tucson-area 6th congressional district. The race was still far too close to call.

Ciscomani is seeking a second term in a rematch against Engel, whom he defeated by 1.5 percentage points in 2022. The district, which includes a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border, runs from Tucson east to the New Mexico state line..

The race is among just a handful of congressional contests across the country that are seen as competitive, The Arizona Republic noted. Its outcome will help determine which party controls the U.S. House starting in 2025.

Ciscomani, a former aide to former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey who immigrated from Mexico as a child, calls border enforcement his top priority but has distanced himself from former President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Engel, a law professor at the University of Arizona, has pointed out Ciscomani rejected a major bipartisan border bill in February that would have overhauled the asylum system and given the president new powers to expel migrants when asylum claims become overwhelming.

Schweikert, now in his seventh House term, faces a challenge from former three-term Democratic state lawmaker Amish Shah in Arizona’s 1st District, which includes north Phoenix, Scottsdale, Fountain Hills and Paradise Valley. It also was too close to call.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson easily won reelection to his 12th term in the U.S. House representing Arizona’s 7th District, trouncing Republican Daniel Butierez.

Grijalva disclosed this spring that he’d been diagnosed with lung cancer.

Republican Rep. Eli Crane in the 2nd District, a Republican-leaning district, faced a spirited challenge from Democrat Jonathan Nez, the former Navajo Nation president.

Of Arizona’s nine representatives in Congress, six are Republicans and three are Democrats.