Incumbent U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran is facing a tough race in his new district, AZ-02, because redistricting made it considerably more red. It was rated Lilely R. but has been upgraded to Lean R by Cook Political Report. Trump would have won the new district by 8 points. Blue Dog Democrat O’Halleran will take on Republican Eli Crane, a Navy veteran who has never held office. Crane was a featured speaker last year at a rally protesting the “political prisoners” of the Jan. 6 insurrection and supports the Big Lie.
AZ-04 has incumbent U.S. Rep Greg Stanton facing Kelly Cooper, who won in a close Republican primary. Stanton, who currently represents AZ-06, raised almost double the campaign funds than Cooper, a restaurant owner and political neophyte. Stanton had served as mayor of Phoenix.
The seat in AZ-06 is open because of redistricting. Kirsten Engel defeated two other Democrats in the primary to vie against Republican Juan Ciscomani. Engel, a former state senator, graduated with honors from Brown University and Northwestern University’s School of Law before working for the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Ciscomani, who had worked at the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, is an ardent Second Amendment supporter; the father of six is anti-abortion.
