Republican Juan Ciscomani and Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, opponents in the race for Arizona’s Sixth Congressional seat, faced off in a debate Thursday night.
The two candidates clashed over the economy and cost of living, healthcare, veterans’ issues, border security and immigration, water rights and election integrity.
Ciscomani, a father of six, is the incumbent U.S. Congressman seeking a third term to continue representing the district that spans parts of Tucson and Pima County, as well as parts of Cochise, Pinal and Graham counties and all of Greenlee County.
Mendoza has a 20-year career across both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps. Her service included combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as serving as a Marine Corps drill instructor.
Here’s how the candidates’ answers stood up to the facts.
What is causing the higher cost of living?
The claim: During Thursday’s debate, Ciscomani attributed the high cost of living to inflation under the Biden administration over the preceding four years, whereas Mendoza pointed to tariffs and tax cuts for billionaires.
The verdict: It’s complicated.
The cost of living in the U.S. rose 3.4% annually through August, driven higher by climbing energy, gas and diesel prices, NPR reported. Economists say neither Biden policies nor tariffs capture the whole picture.
Inflation surged after the pandemic and peaked in 2022. Federal Reserve research attributes a combination of pandemic supply disruptions, unusually strong demand and the fiscal policy response—not to the Biden administration.
Federal Reserve researchers also estimate the tariffs implemented through November 2025 increased core goods prices and that tariff costs were being passed through to consumers.
But experts say there is much more to consider.
Diesel prices in the U.S. hit another record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average as Washington's war with Iran disrupts the world's flow of fuel, NPR reported. Housing costs have jumped 56% since early 2020.
The spike in fuel prices has been driven by higher global oil prices, caused by supply disruptions as a result of the US-Iran war. The BBC reports that the price of benchmark Brent crude oil is hovering above $100 a barrel following recent escalations in the conflict.
Higher oil prices can also make transporting goods more expensive. Such costs can be passed down to consumers through steeper prices for food and other staples, pushing up the overall cost of living.
To address those costs, Ciscomani said he opposes raising taxes or expanding government.
“That's not an area we want to go into because that only stifles the growth of the economy and it also hurts families in Arizona and across the country,” he said.
He advocated for tightening federal spending to reduce national debt while implementing work requirements and bi-annual verification checks to protect safety-net programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid from fraud.
Bi-annual verification for Medicaid, including Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), goes into effect in 2027. Health policy experts at KFF predict the change will lead to hundreds of thousands of Arizonans losing coverage.
Mendoza called to protect those kinds of safety-net programs.
"We need to revert the cuts that have been made to access and Medicaid,” Mendoza said. “We're talking about, you know, the difference between life and death."
Did Mendoza ‘cheat’ on her taxes?
The claim: Ciscomani cited a report from the Arizona Daily Star to accuse JoAnna Mendoza of “cheating” on her taxes.
The verdict: False.
While the Arizona Daily Star later republished the article, it was The Arizona Republic that reported on Aug. 13 that Mendoza wrongfully received Arizona's State Aid to Education property-tax benefit on two homes. Mendoza was not charged with any crimes.
The Republic reported that Mendoza bought a Tucson home in 2021. She bought another home in Red Rock in 2023 and began renting out the Tucson property.
Reporting showed that the Tucson property apparently remained classified as a primary residence, even though Arizona homeowners can have only one primary residence. As a result, she received the education-related property-tax benefit on both properties.
The improper benefit saved her about $820 between 2024 and 2025. Mendoza acknowledged the error to the Republic and her campaign characterized that as a filing mistake.
Records reviewed by the Republic showed she contacted Pima County on Aug. 10 to correct the property's classification.
Did Arizona receive the least amount of rural health funding in the U.S.?
The claim: Mendoza said that Arizona received the lowest amount of funding in the country from the Rural Health Transformation Program fund.
The verdict: False.
While the amount received was met with bipartisan disappointment, Arizona actually ranked sixth in lowest amount of funding.
Mendoza’s remark was in response to Ciscomani touting the $167 million Arizona was awarded to address issues including workforce development and healthcare technology improvements.
Republicans in Congress have framed the rural health funds as an initiative that will help soften the blow of massive Medicaid spending cuts on vulnerable rural hospital networks – cuts that Ciscomani voted in favor of through House Resolution 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill.
“It's like bringing a glass of water to a fire that you started,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza called for reversing the cuts made to Medicaid, arguing that the cuts threaten vital rural services like maternal care.
Ciscomani said he is in favor of preserving safety-net healthcare programs like Medicaid (AHCCCS) for vulnerable populations while enforcing program integrity and fraud prevention.
He told The Arizona Republic that the $167 million fell short of their expectations and led a bipartisan Arizona congressional letter urging CMS to give his state a larger allocation.
Did Ciscomani support DOGE cuts to the VA, resulting in firings of medical staff?
The claim: Mendoza blamed Ciscomani’s policies for staffing cuts at the Department of Veteran Affairs.
The verdict: True.
“It was just absolutely heartbreaking when my opponent was thrilled…He said he was thrilled to support the effort by DOGE–who was led by Elon Musk–to basically cut staff from the VA,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said she was speaking from personal experience as a patient of the Tucson VA.
Ciscomani said during the debate that he supported eliminating top executive bonuses at the Department of Veterans Affairs to redirect those funds directly toward veteran care.
In December 2024, Ciscomani said in a press release that, in light of the national debt surpassing $36 trillion, he was thrilled to join the DOGE Caucus to reduce waste and streamline government bureaucracy.
“When we talk about staff getting cut, no doctors were let go,” Ciscomani said. “That was not the case. That did not happen, OK? That's a fact.”
Policy changes tied to DOGE, however, did lead to a net loss of physicians and medical staff, according to the VA.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the Trump Administration cut nearly 28,000 VA employees in 2025.
VA staffing cuts included 2,700 nurses, more than 1,000 medical officers, and more than 1,000 psychologists and social workers, as well as over 1,800 people tasked with evaluating veterans’ claims for benefits.
VA health centers and offices in every state have seen staffing declines, with Arizona’s VA workforce losing 575 employees.
Watch the full debate
The debates are produced by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission and the Arizona Media Association.
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