A new ad from incumbent Congressman Juan Ciscomani against Democratic opponent Kirsten Engel features clips of her denying the ongoing border crisis and issuing support for police defunding.
The ad featured several flashbacks from Engel on her positions ranging from her time as a state lawmaker through her first run for Congress against Ciscomani in 2022.
The former state lawmaker and University of Arizona law professor denied that Arizona had an immigration crisis during that first run for Congress. Engel said that physical barriers like walls weren’t a solution for her, and that the greater focus should be on providing greater aid to those arriving at our border rather than detainment.
“We do not need help at our border. We do need to secure the border. We have issues of drug trafficking and human smuggling that need to be addressed, but certainly not walls,” said Engel. “What we need from Washington is having an orderly asylum process. That’s national law, that’s international law. We need comprehensive immigration reform. We have to help our Dreamers.”
As a remedy to the border, Engel has advocated for border policy approaches favoring those who arrive in the nation outside the legal avenues for entry: an end to Title 42, legal pathways to citizenship, and deprioritizing illegal migration outside legal ports of entry.
Thank you so much to Sheriff Dannels and his team for the tour and sharing the daily challenges at our southern border. Our local law enforcement risk their lives every day – Congress needs to stop playing politics, reject inaction, and come together to address this crisis. pic.twitter.com/jyUCYtPtgh
Engel maintains these positions as defining her vision for securing the southern border. She has also criticized Ciscomani for not supporting a proposed bill to provide $20 billion for the border out of $118 billion in expenditures. That bill was mainly designed to ensure an additional provision of aid to Ukraine, $60 billion, and the remainder of the $38 billion given in aid to other foreign countries.
While Engel has been outspoken in recent years about border policy, she has distanced herself from conversations on policing since the BLM fallout after George Floyd’s death in 2020 and the conviction of responding officer Derek Chauvin less than a year later.
I hope this verdict is the start of our justice system finally turning the corner and holding law enforcement accountable for unjustified acts of violence against members of the black community. #BlackLivesMatter
Engel advocated for police defunding during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, arguing that there needed to be less police available for responding to emergency calls and more alternatives.
“What we need to do is shift where the money [for police] is going,” said Engel. “Not every 911 call requires a police officer to show up at your door.”
In that same interview, Engel affirmed when she was asked whether she supported a reduction in police budgets.
“Yeah, the way you’ve asked that question, I agree with it,” said Engel.
Instead, Engel proposed that social workers should take over for police officers.
It was also during the peak point of BLM upheaval in the summer of 2020 that Engel publicly backed a claim by Tucson Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz that Tucson police officers were to blame for the death of a man in their custody in April of that year.
Santa Cruz’s public accusations of wrongdoing prompted the officers to resign out of fear for their families’ safety.
The man, Carlos Ingram-Lopez, died from cardiac arrest due to acute levels of cocaine in his system and an enlarged heart.
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In the political fallout that has followed President Joe Biden’s abysmal showing at CNN’s first 2024 Presidential debate, the National Republican Congressional Committee has called upon Kirsten Engel, the Democrat challenger to Congressman Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ06), to answer for Biden’s perceived “senility.”
At a recent Biden campaign rally, Engel was recorded saying, “I’m be so happy to be part of the Biden-Harris coordinated team,” and leading the supporters in attendance along with Congressman Ruben Gallego (D-AZ4) in chants of “Four more years!”
WATCH: Extreme Kirsten Engel says "I'm be so happy to be part of the Biden-Harris coordinated team"
In a press release Friday, NRCC Spokesman Ben Petersen said, “Extreme liberal Kirsten Engel stands with brain-addled Biden, not Southern Arizonans. Engel chooses her lock-step loyalty to Biden over the truth, leaving our border open, inflation raging and our nation in peril.”
The last messaging from Engel’s X account urges supporters to support a pro-abortion ballot initiative, and makes no mention of the octogenarian incumbent currently occupying the top of a highly vulnerable Democrat ticket.
The emphasis on the pro-abortion campaign is also curious for Engel. On June 17, the New York Post reported that abortion is “not a factor” in the District 6 race, noting that an internal Public Opinion Strategies poll obtained by the Post put Ciscomani, a Mexican-American at a comfortable 11 point lead with 50% over Engel, who sits at non-threatening 39%.
Daniel Scarpinato, Ciscomani for Congress’ general consultant, told the outlet, “Juan’s message of the American Dream is resonating among all Arizonans, Republican, Democrat and independent.”
“We are encouraged by these incredibly strong numbers early in the race, but we also know national Democrats will stop at nothing to prop up Engel and her extreme positions on immigration and the economy.”
Following the debacle surrounding Arizona’s 19th century abortion ban, which was settled in the Supreme Court in April, Sabato’s Crystal Ball ranked District 6 as a “toss-up,” however the latest polls seem to belie that.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokeswoman Lauryn Fanguen suggested at the time that “Juan Ciscomani has an extremely unpopular anti-abortion record and has been actively working against the best interest of Arizonans in Congress.” She added, “When voters hear about his votes to take away their reproductive rights and willingness to play partisan politics with the border, they will reject him and his far-right agenda.”
The Post observed that abortion was not at the top of voters concerns based on the internal poll with inflation taking top rank at 25% and immigration and border security taking second billing at 19%. Just 9% gave abortion as the top issue.
Congressional candidate and University of Arizona law school professor Kirsten Engel has refused to stand by Israel as her alma maters, Northwestern University and Brown University, blow up with antisemitic protests, a new report shows.
“Kirsten Engel is not a fighter for Arizona, she is a scared politician who is too afraid of the extreme left to speak up against antisemitism,” National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesperson Ben Petersen said in a statement.
Engel has “been silent in the face of protests taking place at their alma mater.”
Engel is running to represent Arizona’s sixth district. She is a former legislator, Charles E. Ares Professor of Law at the James E. Rogers College of Law, and an environmental lawyer.
She received her undergraduate degree from Brown and her J.D. from Northwestern.
Students at Northwestern set up an encampment on school grounds to demand the administration divest from Israel. Terrorist sympathizers even became violent with police officers.
At Brown, students also set up a pro-Palestine encampment, which they agreed to clear April 30.
Students across the country are skipping classes and final exams to protest on behalf of Hamas-controlled Palestine.
At Columbia University, students took over Hamilton Hall overnight, barricading themselves inside. At the University of Texas, more than 80 arrests have occurred.
Elizabeth Troutman is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send her news tips using this link.
Congressional candidate Kirsten Engel took a picture with failed Soros-backed district attorney candidate Julie Gunnigle about two weeks before her campaign launch.
The pair were attending the 18th International State of the State hosted by the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations (PCFR). Gunnigle ran on a campaign of major police defunding, a concept which Engel supported vocally following the 2020 BLM riots. Her police defunding proposals were echoed by her controversial campaign manager as well.
“What we need to do is shift where the money [for police] is going,” stated Engel.
Engel also encouraged her supporters to donate to the controversial Minnesota Freedom Fund, which earned national media attention for its practice of bailing out violent criminals. She also encouraged donations for Showing Up For Racial Justice, a group that published a toolkit on how communities could defund their local police.
Those past actions from Engel aligned with Gunnigle’s platform last year. Engel then spent time with Gunnigle on the campaign trail last year, despite Democratic leadership and advisors advising that candidates distance themselves from Gunnigle.
Gunnigle pledged to expunge marijuana-related criminal records; decriminalize hard drugs like heroin, crack, and meth; reduce incarceration rates; end cash bail; oppose the death penalty; fight elongated sentences for gang and weapons-related charges; establish mental health response services; and refuse prosecution for abortion offenses.
Gunnigle also campaigned alongside two public figures that mocked Blue Alerts: safety communications for countering law enforcement murders. The individuals were Chris Love, Planned Parenthood of Arizona board member, and Brianna Westbrook, Arizona Democratic Party vice chair.
National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesman Ben Petersen said in a statement that Engel’s decision to keep company with Gunnigle was “terrifying,” adding that it revealed a disregard for public safety.
“Voters defeated Kirsten Engel and Julie Gunnigle’s extremely dangerous agenda of defunding the police and releasing violent criminals just five months ago, yet Engel is still palling around with Gunnigle,” said Petersen.
Democrats began distancing themselves from Gunnigle as Election Day neared. Attorney General Kris Mayes told voters during campaign debate last year that she disagreed with some of Gunnigle’s positions and wouldn’t endorse her. That marked a complete flip from two years ago, when Mayes endorsed Gunnigle’s first run for Maricopa County attorney.
Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone, a Democrat, said at the time that Gunnigle’s platform concerned him.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
Democratic congressional candidate Kirsten Engel pledged support for reallocating police funding to social programs and replacing police with social workers.
The University of Arizona (UArizona) law professor made those remarks in a resurfaced 2020 Clean Elections interview, which her Republican opponent Juan Ciscomani shared.
“What we need to do is shift where the money is going. Not every 911 call requires a police officer to show up at your door,” said Engel.
IN HER OWN WORDS:
“Defund the police. Would you support a reduction in police budgets…”@EngelForArizona: “Yeah… the way you’ve asked that question, I agree with it.”
In Kirsten Engel’s America, our police are defunded and our neighborhoods are left unprotected. #AZ06 1/ pic.twitter.com/vB1QtqVMOc
In June 2020, Engel sided with Tucson Councilwoman Lane Santa Cruz after she accused Tucson police officers of murder and violence concerning the death of a man in custody.
The man in question, Carlos Ingram-Lopez, died from cardiac arrest due to excessive cocaine in his system. Contributors to Ingram-Lopez’s death bore striking similarities to that of George Floyd’s less than a month earlier: a drug overdose, enlarged heart, and physical restraint. The Tucson Police Officers Association (TPOA) disclosed that the officers Santa Cruz accused falsely of killing Ingram-Lopez resigned out of fear for their families’ safety.
Engel criticized TPOA for speaking out against Santa Cruz’s fabrication. She accused TPOA of bullying and intimidation.
Then-Police Chief Chris Magnus offered to resign over Ingram-Lopez’s death. The city rejected his resignation. Magnus would later be appointed as the head of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
At the height of the BLM riots, Engel donated to the Arizona Justice Bailout Fund, which pledged to use donations to bail out BLM protestors. That bailout fund was launched by the scandal-ridden Our Voice Our Vote Arizona in conjunction with Arizona Coalition for Change.
Engel’s 2020 advocacy marked a departure from her previous years in the state legislature, when she was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP).
I am thankful that the Fraternal Order of Police have put their trust in me to help make where I can. pic.twitter.com/NP2alF0UYv
Engel’s social media postings about police slowed after the summer of 2020, when she signaled support for the sweeping police reforms and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests across the nation. Additionally, Engel’s campaign platform doesn’t address policing at all. However, Engel’s recent campaign actions indicate that her perspective on policing hasn’t veered too far from her 2020 stance.
In June, Engel signed a pledge by the Reparations Pledge PAC. That PAC and its founder, Redeem Robinson, advocate for defunding the police.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
