Primary candidates advanced to the general election on Tuesday night across Arizona, including in three House districts that could shape the path to the majority in November’s midterm elections.
Republicans are defending two swing seats in Arizona, including the open 1st Congressional District, which is open after incumbent Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) ran for governor.
Arizona’s 2nd District, currently represented by Republican Rep. Eli Crane, is a greater reach for Democrats but is targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as Republicans stare down a potentially difficult midterm cycle.
1st Congressional District: Jay Feely vs. Amish Shah
Republican Jay Feely and Democrat Amish Shah are both vying for this Scottsdale-based district after Schweikert bowed out of the race.
Schweikert opted to leave the House after two terms to participate instead in the GOP’s gubernatorial primary in Arizona but lost soundly to Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) on Tuesday night.
That left the race open for Feely, a former NFL kicker and broadcaster for CBS. The Trump-endorsed athlete fended off a primary challenge from former Arizona state Rep. Joseph Chaplik. Feely will proceed to the general election with 49.8% of his party’s primary vote.
Democrats also held a competitive primary for the district. Shah, a former state representative who narrowly lost to Schweikert in 2024, once again aimed to appear on the November ballot. Shah defeated Marlene Galan-Woods, an establishment-backed former broadcast journalist, by roughly 6 percentage points. The DCCC spent roughly $500,000 on joint ads with Galan-Woods, according to nonpartisan firm AdImpact, while other outside groups spent nearly $3 million supporting her.
President Donald Trump won the district by about 3 points in 2024.
2nd Congressional District: Eli Crane vs. Jonathan Nez
Crane will once again face former Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez in this vast district, which stretches from Flagstaff and Prescott to just south of Phoenix and includes 12 Native American reservations.
Crane has made a name for himself on Capitol Hill as a vocal member of the Republican Party’s right-wing flank. He played a prominent role in the successful ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in 2023.
Nez, meanwhile, has a strong base of support in the district’s Native American communities. The district includes large swaths of reservation land. One in five residents is Native American, according to Arizona redistricting data.
Both candidates advanced on Tuesday night in uncontested primaries. Nez and Crane have proven to be apt fundraisers, meaning this race could become expensive despite currently flying under the radar.
The matchup will be a reprisal of their 2024 contest, when Crane bested Nez by 9 points. Vice President Kamala Harris lost the district by 15 points.
6th Congressional District: Juan Ciscomani vs. JoAnna Mendoza
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) and Marine veteran JoAnna Mendoza are headed for a duel of their own in this toss-up district, home of the iconic gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone.
The district, which includes Tucson’s northern suburbs and a small section of the U.S.-Mexico border, is one of the most competitive seats in the country. Trump endorsed Ciscomani in his race against Mendoza, a political newcomer and former drill instructor.
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Ciscomani, who was first elected in 2022, was born in Mexico and became a naturalized citizen in 2006.
Trump carried the district by less than 1 point in 2024 after the GOP narrowly lost the seat in 2020.