Ciscomani Surges Ahead in Az CD6 with 1,560 Vote Advantage Over Engel

In a dramatic turn of events, U.S. Representative Juan Ciscomani regained the lead over Democratic challenger Kirsten Engel in Arizona’s CD6 race, following updates from several counties that revealed a margin of 1,560 votes in his favor as of Friday. After trailing by approximately 14,000 votes earlier in the week, Ciscomani and Engel have been locked in a close contest, with both candidates previously trading leads multiple times as ballot counts were adjusted.

As of the latest tallies, Ciscomani had accumulated 164,697 votes, while Engel trailed closely with 163,137 votes. However, the race remains uncertain due to a significant number of early ballots that are still being processed. Pima County election officials estimated around 120,907 uncounted ballots as of Friday afternoon. Notably, not all these ballots pertain to the CD6 race, as the district does not encompass the entirety of the county.

Incorporating additional estimates, Cochise County reported 31,900 uncounted ballots (though many may not relate to CD6), while Pinal County had 24,262 outstanding as of Thursday. Minimal numbers were reported in Graham and Greenlee counties, with seven and one uncounted ballots, respectively. This election is notably a rematch of the narrow 2022 contest in which Ciscomani defeated Engel by less than 2 percentage points.

The demographic makeup of the Southern Arizona district shows a strong concentration of voters in Pima County, accounting for 74 percent. Cochise and Pinal counties contribute approximately 12 and 10 percent, respectively, with the remaining 4 percent distributed between Graham and Greenlee counties. The voting base leans Republican, with 36 percent identifying as GOP, compared to 31 percent for Democrats and 33 percent unaffiliated.

Election officials anticipate that vote counting will extend through the weekend, as they ensure a thorough signature verification process for the remaining mail-in ballots. Final results are not expected until next week, particularly since voters have until Sunday to rectify any irregularities in their ballots.

Challenges have arisen along the way, particularly in Cochise County, where a bomb threat forced the evacuation of the county’s main election center. Technical issues further hindered their tabulation efforts. In contrast, Pima County officials faced threats linked to a series of bomb threats associated with Russian email addresses but continued their operations uninterrupted.