The Associated Press projects that Republican Juan Ciscomani will win the House race in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, defeating Democratic state Sen. Kirsten Engel.
With Ciscomani’s victory, Republicans have now won 214 seats, meaning they only need four more electoral wins to reach 218 and secure the House majority.
Ciscomani, a first-generation American, served as an adviser to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, R-Ariz., and was viewed as one of the party’s top recruits of the 2022 election cycle.
The GOP candidate was featured on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s (NRCC) fifth edition of its “Project Spotlight” series, highlighting House Republicans candidates of “all-star recruiting class.”
In his spotlight, he told the story of his family who migrated to the United States from Mexico when he was a child.
“Four a.m. That’s when my father woke up every day when I was a kid. He brought our family to America and drove a bus for 20 years,” Ciscomani says. “Only in America could a first-generation immigrant come to this country with nothing and have the opportunity to represent their community in the United States Congress. Only in America.”
Engel was the Democratic candidate competing against Ciscomani for the House seat. The Democrat formerly served as an Arizona State Senator in the state’s 10th District and also represented Tuscon in the state legislature.
Following the latest GOP pickup, there are only a handful of seats left in play for the 2022 midterm elections.