Democrats are targeting three incumbent congressional Republicans for defeat in the next election.
In December, House Majority PAC (HMP) released its list of initial seats around the country that it was looking to flip for the 2026 General Election. In that list, three Arizona congressional Republicans were included: David Schweikert, Eli Crane, and Juan Ciscomani.
The memo from HMP largely blamed the failure to recapture the U.S. House of Representatives on President Donald J. Trump’s greater-than-anticipated victory across the country, writing, “Unfortunately, Trump’s lead in the 2024 popular vote created incredibly tough headwinds for our candidates, and we faced a national environment that trended towards 6% more Republican than 2020. In spite of these challenges and clear disappointments, House Democrats significantly overperformed the top of the ticket and the political environment – all thanks to our quality candidates and your help.”
The HMP memo added that, “Headed into the midterms with lessons learned from 2024, HMP is today launching a 2026 Recruitment Fund – which will allow us to recruit and prepare potential candidates earlier than ever…We must ensure Democratic campaigns are set up for success – and that comes through conducting qualitative and quantitative research to develop specific messaging and strategies for individual races.”
Though Democrats poured many resources into attempts to flip seemingly vulnerable seats in Arizona, they came up short with Crane, Schweikert, and Ciscomani, who all held their own against the vaunted opposition. Schweikert and Ciscomani will always have to be wary of strong Democrat challenges to their incumbency due to the partisan makeup of their congressional districts. Both those members have proven extremely hardy to their political realities, focusing on commonsense solutions to problems and outstanding constituent services to help convince voters that they deserve another term in office.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
Arizona Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s eight-year tenure in the House of Representatives recently came to close. As she prepares to take office as a Maricopa County Supervisor, she shared a series of congressional speeches from her colleagues in the House congratulating her on her retirement and recounting her legislative accomplishments.
In an op-ed published by AZ Free News, Lesko looked back on her time in Congress noting her time various committees including Judiciary, Homeland Security, Rules, and Science, Space, and Technology. She also reflected on her time serving on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee along with the Homeland Security Subcommittee and the controversial Select Subcommittee on COVID-19.
Lesko wrote, “I strive to conduct myself honorably and in accordance with the desires of my district, and I will continue as long as I am in office. I will carry with me the memories of my service in the People’s House as long as I live. I appreciate all who have helped me to this point, and I will always be proud to be the U.S. Congresswoman from Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. May God continue to bless our great nation.”
From Christmas Eve through the weekend several members of Congress took the podium to address Lesko’s retirement including Rep. Virginia Cox (R-NC), who highlighted her as “one of the kindest and most forgiving people I’ve ever met in my life.” She added that Lesko forgave her, becoming emotional as she wished the Congresswoman well.
During my time in Congress, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from and serve alongside many incredible women, including @virginiafoxx. Thank you, Congresswoman, for your kind words on my retirement. It’s been an honor to serve together inside these hallowed halls. pic.twitter.com/hQFX2rQUC2
Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) quipped that she initially met Lesko in a nail salon, eliciting laughs from her fellow Congress members. She noted that she never saw the Arizona Congresswoman “in a bad mood.” Fischbach alluded to Lesko’s upcoming service on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors saying, “I think that the people of Arizona and your county are going to be so incredibly well served, and you will do a wonderful job for them.”
It’s been a joy serving alongside @RepFischbach during my time in Congress. I would like to thank her for her kind words, steadfast conservatism, and friendship. pic.twitter.com/k9EQsag51T
Praise also came from members of the Arizona Congressional delegation with Rep. Juan Ciscomani telling the House that Lesko “is a conservative,” but is “just not angry about it.”
It’s been an honor to serve the great state of Arizona alongside @RepCiscomani. We have done some amazing work together, and I am very appreciative of his kind words. pic.twitter.com/UfcRtq9s9Y
Congressman Andy Biggs told the gathered members that he first heard of Lesko when she served on a school board. He credited her with courage during her work on pension reform in the Arizona legislature. Biggs also joked at the reduction in staff that Lesko now faces, saying she’ll have just “one and a half staffers,” in her new role before being overcome with emotion.
Thank you to my longtime friend and fellow Arizonan, @RepAndyBiggsAZ, for your kind words. It has been an honor serving the people of Arizona with you in the U.S. House of Representatives, and I am thankful for our many years of friendship. pic.twitter.com/iM9RRZKIzx
Rep. David Schweikert echoed the sentiment of Ciscomani when he exclaimed, “Look, one of the magic things about Debbie Lesko is that she has proven, you can be conservative and not be angry about it! You can actually be joyful and kind and sweet and just a decent human being!” He stressed Lesko’s calm demeanor in contrast to his anger at times and remarked on her avoiding traveling with a laptop for a “stack of paper” on regular flights to and from Washington, D.C. He quipped, “They do make these things called laptops…”
Thank you to my fellow Arizonan, @RepDavid for your kind words and optimism for our country. I’m so thankful to have had the opportunity to serve our great state and nation with you and I am happy to be able to call you a friend. pic.twitter.com/NaFpo2fiws
Noting that Maricopa County is the fourth most populated county in the nation, Schweikert recalled his time as County Treasurer and added that he missed “those day when you could actually do things.”
The nation may see the benefits of hydropower expansion in Arizona, depending on President Joe Biden’s approval of an Arizona congressman’s bill.
That bill, HR 1607 from Congressman David Schweikert, transfers National Forest System land near the Salt River in Arizona to the Bureau of Reclamation for the purpose of additional hydropower generation within the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project.
In remarks before the House last year, Schweikert explained that pumped storage hydroelectricity supplements energy resources in the state.
“It’s environmentally sound, it actually allows us to take care of something that is somewhat unique for us in the desert southwest, and that is the solar power we produce,” said Schweikert.
Pumped storage hydroelectricity pumps water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir during low energy demand. During high energy demand, the upper reservoir releases downhill into the lower reservoir through hydropower turbines to generate around 10-12 hours of reliable energy.
In a press release, Schweikert said the legislation proved Arizona’s standing as a state leading on energy production and efficiency.
“Once again, Arizona has proven to lead the charge to deliver innovation and make life more efficient for Arizonans at a time when our state’s economy and population continue to explode,” said Schweikert. “The near unanimous support for this legislation proves that America is ready to embrace long-term energy storage technologies to expand the supply of affordable and reliable energy for our communities.”
Schweikert thanked his Democratic colleague, Congressman Greg Stanton, for his assistance in getting the bill passed with bipartisan support.
“I’m incredibly thankful for my friend and colleague, Rep. Stanton, who’s been crucial to this process of embracing innovation, and I’m looking forward to seeing this technology benefit Arizona,” said Schweikert in the press release.
Stanton contributed a statement to Schweikert’s press release, adding that the pumped storage hydroelectric expansion couldn’t come at a better time.
“Not only do pumped storage projects provide greater flexibility and improve reliability in our energy grid, but they also cut utility costs for Arizona families and businesses,” said Stanton. “This critical legislation passed the House with an overwhelming majority last year, and today it’s on its way to becoming law.”
It was a bipartisan coalition of elected leaders that ensured the passage of Schweikert’s bill. Both the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed the legislation unanimously.
Schweikert introduced the bill last March. The House passed the bill last November, where it awaited Senate review for over a year. The Senate approved the bill on Tuesday. Arizona Senators Mark Kelly (D) and Kyrsten Sinema (I) introduced companion legislation in March, SB 739, which has advanced to Biden’s desk.
Kelly said in the press release that the expansion would not only strengthen the state’s energy grid but result in lower energy costs for Arizonans.
“Expanding pumped-storage hydropower in Arizona will strengthen our energy grid and lower energy costs for families,” said Kelly. “This is about using technology to make our energy more reliable and affordable.”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
Congressman David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) offered his fellow Congress members a gift in his weekly speech on Thursday. The former Arizona State Treasurer and nation’s de facto accountant presented solutions to the problems “that directly contribute to rising costs and decreasing wages in America.” In a press release last week, Schweikert shared video of his speech in which he points out the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November reflected a 2.7 percent price increase from November of last year, indicating continuing inflation while wages continue to stagnate.
The Arizona Republican stressed the need for Congress to pursue a modernized immigration approach based on talent and merit in 2025, which promotes both productivity and wage growth while simultaneously offsetting declining birth rates and population decline.
Schweikert explained, “Here’s the reality: if the president is looking at you in the camera, and telling you [we have] the best economy ever—that’s not factual—but why don’t you feel it? It’s because much of America is poorer today than the day President Biden took office. If you live in the Phoenix-Scottsdale area—my home—if you don’t make 27 percent more today than the day President Biden took office, you are poorer.
Having someone telling you, ‘Oh, the economy is great,’ and yet, you’re having trouble paying for things… The reason we made this board, functionally, for you to maintain your purchasing power. If you are an average American in my district, these numbers are substantially higher because I am from a district with some of the highest inflation in America. If you are not making $1,115 more a month—because that’s what you have to be [making] from four years ago—your purchasing power… you’re poorer.
And I think that’s the reason that voters turned and said, ‘Okay, I see these Democrats running lots of ads saying crazy things,’ but yet, it turns out the voters are actually really smart. They would look at their checking account. They’d look at the cost of their kids’ clothes. They’d look at the grocery store and try to figure out why in the last week of the month they were losing their minds under stress.”
WATCH:
The congressman stressed the incoherence of current immigration policy, which invites foreign nationals into the U.S., educates them in our institutions, and then ships them back to their home countries rather than encouraging skilled legal immigrants to become citizens. In the release, Schweikert notes, “When wages go up, we actually take in more tax receipts and then begins the cascade event of changing society and the economy for the future and the better.”
Regarding reforming the tax code to favor research and development and immigration laws to favor talent-based immigration, he posited, “One of our economists is trying to model what would happen if you said we’re going to do expensing of research and development because we know that pops economic growth. But if you also did talent-based immigration at the same time, you may get a multiplier effect. This is thinking like an economist. This is what we have to do to get ourselves out of this hole.”
Democratic Candidate for Congressional District 1 Amish Shah has found himself facing demands from the Tempe City Attorney.
According to the Arizona Agenda, Tempe City Attorney Eric Anderson contacted the Shah campaign and ordered the candidate to cease using a mailer that depicts a retired Tempe Police officer in full uniform including his sidearm. The advertisement shows Shah speaking with the officer and claiming he “stood up to his own party to crack down on fentanyl trafficking” or that he “voted to increase funding for border security,” forwarding a narrative that he is at least pro-law and order if not pro-law enforcement.
The ad naturally came to the attention of incumbent Republican Congressman David Schweikert who forwarded it to the city attorney. The mailer appears to be in violation of Arizona law A.R.S. 9-500.14, which forbids the use of city resources to influence an election, including: “monies, accounts, credit, facilities, vehicles, postage, telecommunications, computer hardware and software, web pages, personnel, equipment, materials, buildings or any other thing of value of the city or town.” In this case, the city’s logo represents a “thing of value.” Anderson also confirmed to the outlet that city policy also forbids the practice.
“Accordingly, my office has directed correspondence to both the former officer as well as Dr. Shah’s campaign demanding that any such use be discontinued,” he wrote, adding that if the Schweikert campaign sees him use it again, they should tell the city “so further action can be considered.”
It’s not uncommon for politicians to pose with police. 🚔📸
But the cops aren’t usually dressed in uniform, complete with gun. 🔫👮♂️
As of this report, the advertisements haven’t stopped. Schweikert campaign consultant Chris Baker told the Arizona Agenda that one more mailer hit homes just a day after the letter from the city attorney, which could have already been in process. But a few days later, another was deployed, leading the campaign to alert the city.
Responding to the allegations, Shah told the outlet that he passed the city’s letter on to his attorney and if his campaign had indeed violated the law, he would update the ad. He did note though that his team had contracted with a major national firm for the mailers and were told by both the company and the retired officer that use of the photo was “kosher.”
Shah told the outlet, “We’re checking with our team and our lawyers to see if what they allege to be a violation, was indeed a violation. And if we are found to be out of compliance, then we will take corrective action, meaning, blur it out.”
National Republican Congressional Committee Spokesperson Ben Petersen reacted in a statement saying, “Lawbreaking liberal Amish Shah thinks he’s above the rules and will do anything for power. Shah shamelessly doubling down on his illegal behavior despite being warned shows his contempt for the rule of law.”
In a post to X, Petersen even noted, “Let’s not forget Shah clearly forgot Tempe is not even in #AZ01.”
According to the law, “For each violation of this section, the court may impose a civil penalty not to exceed five thousand dollars plus any amount of misused funds subtracted from the city or town budget against a person who knowingly violates or aids another person in violating this section.”
