Democrats believe abortion issue can topple freshman Rep. Juan Ciscomani

Democratic strategists are betting early they can take a Republican-held House seat from Rep. Juan Ciscomani by focusing the 2024 election on abortion rights.

Organizations such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and abortion-rights group EMILY’s List are weighing in on the race after watching Democrat Kirsten Engel lose to Ciscomani, R-Ariz., by just 5,232 votes in 2022. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., also cited the abortion issue in his recent endorsement of Engel.

Engel, a former state lawmaker from Tucson, is lined up for a rematch in the district, as Democrat Jack O’Donnell quietly bowed out of the 6th Congressional District primary race last week without comment.

Ciscomani is taking heat from national Democrats over his cosponsorship of H.R. 7, referred to as the no abortions with federal money act.

“During his brief time in Congress, Juan Ciscomani has proactively sought to chip away at Arizonans’ reproductive freedoms to reach his ultimate goal: passing a nationwide abortion ban,” DCCC spokesperson Justin Chermol said. “This dangerous bill, which would force women off their private health insurance plans, is just his latest attempt.”

Ciscomani also is on the House Appropriations Committee, which recently boasted that Republican members successfully prevented federal employees from taking paid leave to get abortions. Ciscomani voted yes on the wide-ranging bill.

A Ciscomani spokesperson said his position has remained consistent.

"Congressman Ciscomani is pro-life with the exception for cases of rape, incest or threat to a mother’s life — the same position he held on the campaign trail. As a father of 3 girls, he would never do anything to jeopardize a woman’s health," his office said in a written statement.

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Democrats think district is competitive

Ciscomani’s win in 2022 helped Republicans retake control of the U.S. House for the first time since 2018, and they now have a 222-212 advantage over Democrats in the chamber. But Democrats believe it's still an opportunity.

The district covers much of the southeast corner of the state, from Tucson in Pima County, part of Pinal County to the north, and stretches east all the way to the New Mexico border covering Greenlee County and parts of Cochise and Graham counties.

Engel's race was close despite getting blown out of the water in spending in 2022.

Ciscomani not only outspent Engel in the 2022 cycle, with $3.3 million spent by his own committee on the primary and general election, compared with about $2.5 million spent by Engel’s committee, but he also got substantially more help from outside groups as well.

Ciscomani beneffited from about $6.7 million in outside spending to either support him or oppose Engel throughout the entire cycle, according to Federal Election Commission data. The biggest chunk of that, $4.7 million, was spent on opposition to Engel.

Among those supporting Ciscomani was the National Right to Life Victory Fund.

Engel got just $265,000 in help spent by outside groups to either support her or oppose Ciscomani.

Bill would restrict insurance that covers abortion

H.R. 7 has 163 cosponsors, all Republicans, including five of the six from Arizona. — Rep. David Schweikert being the exception from his state.

Sponsorship of such a bill is probably safe for Republicans in districts with a strong Republican majority, but Democrats see an opportunity to highlight the issue in Ciscomani’s district considering how close his last race was.

H.R. 7 prohibits using government subsidies, including tax credits, to purchase insurance plans that cover abortions. Women who are serving in the military, veterans or covered under Medicaid, as well as federal employees and those covered by the Indian Health Service, would therefore not be able to use their credits to purchase insurance that covers abortions.

About 74,000 military veterans live in the district, according to the U.S. Census.

Abortion-rights groups are eager to highlight the issue in CD6.

“We were proud to be a part of Kirsten's race in 2022 and excited about her rematch race, which is why she's our first challenger endorsement of the cycle,” EMILY’s List spokesperson Danni Wang said Wednesday. The organization promotes women running for office who support access to abortion.

Ciscomani's office said a majority of Americans oppose the use of federal money to pay for abortions, pointing to a Marist College of Public Opinion poll commissioned by the Catholic group Knights of Columbus from January 2022 that indicated 85% of Republicans and 54% of Americans overall feel that way.

A subsequent survey by the same organizations released this year following the Supreme Court's reversal of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision showed slightly more opposition for federal funds paying for those services.

"H.R. 7 focuses on the end of federal funding for abortions, which is widely supported by Americans, rather than the jurisdiction for legality of abortion," his office said in a statement.

Ciscomani June 24 announced his support for the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“I’m proudly Pro-Life and will always defend life as a member of Congress,” he said on Twitter that day. “As a husband and a father, I believe that life is precious, and as a county, we must protect women and children in every way possible.”

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Ciscomani lists a variety of topics on his “issues” page of his campaign website, starting with border security and the economy. Election integrity, Second Amendment, military/veterans issues also are listed before his position as being "pro life."

He gave an interview with the Arizona Daily Star in September 2022 that both Ciscomani and Engel cite in the debate, where he reiterated his anti-abortion position.

“I say that as a husband, and the son of a mother that I highly respect, and as the dad of three girls as well,” he said.

During that interview with the Daily Star, Ciscomani took a follow-up question regarding whether he thought it was appropriate for a 25-year-old woman with no health concerns to seek an abortion. He implied there was no role for him in that decision as it was up to the state, and he would follow the laws of the state in which he lives.

But opponents of his point out that with his sponsorship of H.R. 7 and other votes in Congress, the issue is not being left to the states.

Ciscomani's office disputed that the bill takes away the choice from states.

"This bill still leaves the issue up to the state," his office said in a statement.

Engel doesn’t list abortion rights as her top priority, instead leading with the economy and affordable healthcare on her own campaign page issues list. But “reproductive choice” is listed third, followed by strengthening Social Security and Medicare.

"While my opponent cheered the repeal of Roe v. Wade, I staunchly opposed it, and he has sided with his extremist Republican colleagues to attack our rights and our freedoms since he got to Congress,” Engel said Wednesday in a statement to The Arizona Republic.

“He voted to pass anti-choice legislation as one of his first acts in Congress and recently voted for federal restrictions to abortion. He made it clear he supports criminalizing doctors and women with no exceptions for rape or incest. Arizonans are overwhelmingly pro-choice, and I will always, always stand up for women's freedom to choose."

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democrats to challenge Juan Ciscomani on abortion in 2024 election