Personal and professional background make Ciscomani formidable candidate for Congress

Juan Ciscomani, the Republican nominee for Congress in Arizona’s 6th District, which covers a large swath of the southeastern part of the state, says his background is what shapes his worldview and makes him a unique candidate.

“I’m someone that grew up here in a very Democrat area in the state of Arizona, as a first-generation Hispanic Republican, so that really puts me in a different light, I think, of saying, ‘Well, how do you see the issues?’ I see them very uniquely,” Ciscomani said.

Ciscomani is part of a new generation of political leaders seeking to reshape Arizona politics. He was an immigrant from Mexico who moved to Tucson at 11 years old. If elected, he will be the first immigrant to serve in Congress from Arizona history.

Ciscomani was also the first in his family to graduate from college, with degrees from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona. He was the vice president of outreach for the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where he worked to lower taxes and regulations for small business owners.

That experience, Ciscomani says, has shaped his approach to the key economic issues in this election cycle. He has met with local small-business owners at his campaign office, leading discussions in both Spanish and English. He has also focused on how inflation and supply chain issues have negatively affected businesses and consumers.

“What government can and should do, first of all, is stop the overspending,” Ciscomani said. “This overspending, this pumping of resources into the economy; it’s creating a higher demand for things of low supply. And that’s part of the problem that we’re seeing on this inflation rate.”

Ciscomani most recently served as a senior adviser to Gov. Doug Ducey and as the vice-chair of the Arizona-Mexico Commission, which he says has given him a fresh perspective on border security. He has proposed improvements to border technology and expanding border personnel to combat illegal activity, including and especially the trafficking of fentanyl.

“Our law enforcement officers or CBP officers have stopped thousands of these pills that would have otherwise come into the country and done a lot of harm to us,” Ciscomani said. “We need to give them the resources. We need more agents that can actually help and cover more ground.”

Water is another priority of Ciscomani’s platform and he has said that the federal government must “ensure Arizonans aren’t paying the price because states like California have refused to act and are willing to let Arizona bear the brunt of the costs.”

Ciscomani believes that his background and experience will help him appeal to Hispanic voters and members of both parties and unaffiliated voters.

“I think the Republican Party is recognizing that it’s right there for the taking if the right message is there and the right messenger as well,” Ciscomani said. “I think that has a lot to do with it and that’s where candidates like myself come in and we can go out and speak to our Hispanic community about the issues.”

Election Day is November 8.