Juan Ciscomani

Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani participated in the 9/11 Tower Challenge at Tucson Convention Center. The incumbent congressman facing a challenge from Democrat JoAnna Mendoza says the U.S. is on the right track when it comes to improving the economy, a major issue among voters.

Grace Trejo, Arizona Daily Star

Immigrant spirit and resiliency

A car ride and a suit change later, Ciscomani attended a naturalization ceremony, where he spoke to 30 people who had just taken their oath of citizenship.

In a courtroom packed with families and several babbling babies, he told the rows of new citizens he understood what they had all been through to get there. Sept. 18 would be the 20th anniversary of the day he became a citizen himself, he said.

“It’s not easy… It took my family over 13 years to be able to earn it,” he said.

He makes it a point to attend as many ceremonies as he can, Ciscomani said, because they remind him of his father, a bus driver from Mexico who taught him the immigrant spirit means being resilient.

“No matter how terrible things get, I’m glad I’m here,” he said, speaking of the country in general in the lobby of the federal courthouse building in downtown Tucson.

A long military career

The Star spoke to Mendoza over Zoom, as a late-campaign hurdle in the form of a COVID-19 infection caused her to cancel a few days of canvassing with her team.

She grew up in a farming family in Eloy, roughly halfway between Phoenix and Tucson. In the summers, she worked in the fields with her parents starting when she was 10 years old. Her favorite part of Eloy is the small-town character and the Super Fries from Nico’s Mexican Food, she said.

“Everybody knows everybody,” she said. “I think it keeps me grounded and it keeps me humble.”

Democratic candidate JoAnna Mendoza makes a speech last month during the opening of her field office on East Grant Road. Mendoza often cites incumbent Republican Juan Ciscomani’s support of President Trump and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

Mendoza’s speeches and anecdotes are full of military-isms gathered from a 20-year military career central to her candidate identity. She enlisted in the Navy at 17 and later joined the Marine Corps, working her way up the ranks to eventually become a drill instructor.