Arizona's 6th Congressional District is perennially competitive.
Voters elected Democrat Gabrielle Giffords three times starting in 2006. Then it swung red beginning in 2014, when voters chose Republican Martha McSally back-to-back.
The political pendulum swung in favor of the Democrats in 2018 when Ann Kirkpatrick was elected to fill McSally's empty seat and four years later, Republican Juan Ciscomani cashed in on voters' opinions of Democratic President Joe Biden and won the seat, representing much of Tucson and southern Arizona.
This year, Republican Donald Trump is in the White House, and the party could feel voters' wrath in the midterms. Incumbent Ciscomani is back to defend his seat, this time against Democrat JoAnna Mendoza.
Mendoza's allies
are focusing on Ciscomani's record in Washington. They say he can't stand up to his own party, calling him "spineless" in an attack ad.
Ciscomani is leaning into Mendoza's background in political consulting and registering as a lobbyist as to why she is unfit to replace him.
This week on The Gaggle, a politics podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, hosts Ron Hansen and Stephanie Murray are joined by Republic reporter Laura Gersony. Together they go over the competitive race and break down how the border, Trump and the economic health of the district are playing key roles in the competition.
Listen to the episode
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Note: The Gaggle is intended to be heard. But we also offer an AI transcript of the episode. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.
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Reach producer Amanda Luberto at amanda.luberto@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @amandaluberto.
Catch up on previous Gaggle episodes here:
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why this Arizona race is a temperature check on Trump's second term
