Congressional candidate Kirsten Engel participates in a Democratic debate on Arizona PBS on Wednesday, May 18, 2022.. || PBS screen grab
By Ryan Randazzo || The Arizona Republic
Democrat Kirsten Engel wants a rematch with Rep. Juan Ciscomani in a southeastern Arizona congressional district where she lost a narrow race last year.
She announced Wednesday she will make another run at the office in 2024. She lost last year to Ciscomani, R-Ariz., by about 5,200 votes.
“It was an incredibly close race last time. This cycle the stakes are even higher,” Engel said Tuesday in an interview with The Arizona Republic. “And what 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.”
She also said the Republican party is threatening to undercut Social Security and Medicare.
To win the competitive district, Ciscomani largely avoided the unproven claims of election fraud that helped his fellow Republicans lose races for governor, secretary of state and attorney general in the 2022 midterm election despite a Republican voter registration advantage in the state.
Since taking office, Ciscomani has stuck to a moderate track, including by introducing two bills aimed at helping veterans and a bipartisan bill with Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., that would elevate southern Arizona’s Chiricahua National Monument to a national park.
Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick formerly held the district that was known at the time as the 2nd Congressional District, but she decided to retire, prompting the first race between Engel and Ciscomani.
