A group of Democratic congressional candidates — including one Arizonan — are arguing the party’s support for certain primary candidates undermines the democratic process.
Last week, JoAnna Mendoza, a candidate in the Democratic primary for Arizona’s 6th congressional district, was named as part of the Red to Blue program. The program, run by the party’s congressional campaign arm, provides additional support to certain candidates the party believes can flip Republican-held seats in this year’s midterms.
An open letter, co-signed by Mendoza’s primary opponent Iman Bah, argues that “these actions show that outcomes are being shaped before ballots are cast.”
“Primaries are not an inconvenience, they are the foundation of democratic legitimacy,” the letter states. “Constituents deserve the opportunity to compare ideas, hear open debate, and decide for themselves who will represent them rather than being told who to vote for.”
Bah signed the letter alongside candidates in Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
“You cannot argue that democracy is on the ballot in November while narrowing democracy in the primaries from now through August,” it states.
In an interview with AZPM, Bah called the Red to Blue program “anti-democratic.”
He said it was frustrating to see his party “coalesced behind a candidate that is not well-known and really hasn’t made her case to the people.”
Bah filed his statement of interest for the 2026 primaries in May 2025. Mendoza did so three months earlier, in Feb. 2025. Both candidates have campaign websites, but Mendoza also has an active social media presence and has spoken at several events, including a veterans’ town hall and a town hall with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly.
The district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Republican who was first elected in 2022 and was reelected in 2024.
Bah described himself as a “working man,” listing previous jobs as an Uber driver and substitute teacher. His platform calls for replacing mortgage interest payments with much smaller “loan servicing fees,” creating a nationwide low-cost online university and opening Medicare enrollment to anyone who wants it.
After retiring from the Marine Corps, Mendoza worked in constituent services for former U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran. Her campaign website calls for “practical, unifying solutions that lower costs for families, expand access to healthcare and education, protect earned benefits, strengthen national security, and uphold responsible gun ownership.”
Bah said he recently received his first campaign donation.
“Besides that, I haven’t had much money to work with,” he said. “My thing is, I get out there and I’m talking with people directly.”
Mendoza’s campaign has raised almost $3 million, according to federal campaign finance reports, which show most of her top individual donors lived outside Arizona.
“I don’t answer to party bosses. I answer to Arizona. Our district is ready for an elected leader who shows up, stands firm, and gets results,” Mendoza wrote in a statement about the Red to Blue program.
“Arizona Democrats are already at each other's throats, and the AZ-06 primary is sure to only get messier before it's over. Whoever wins will be whoever leaps the furthest to the left, regardless of who DC Democrats coronate,” wrote Ben Petersen, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement about the Red to Blue program.
According to the Georgetown Public Policy Review, between 2000 and early 2024, over 85% of House races were won by the candidate who spent the most money.
Bah said candidates without extensive political connections face an uphill battle to be elected, but argued they better represent voters’ concerns.
“If someone seems like they’re being pushed by the establishment, and it seems like the establishment is intent on a particular candidate, that should be enough cause to take a second look,” Bah said.
He also said Arizona's decision to hold primaries two weeks earlier than in past years makes it harder for outsider candidates to collect the necessary signatures to run. This year’s Arizona primary election will take place on July 21, 2026.
