Arizona Democrats lay out vision for new U.S. House cycle
The mood among the winners in the 48th State after Democrats gained back control of both chambers of Congress was a mix of optimism and responsibility.
Of the nine congressional districts in Arizona, five were won by Democrats, including first-time victors such as Amish Shah, D-Phoenix, in the 1st District and JoAnna Mendoza, D-Tucson, in the 6th.
After a week where the party gained back control of the House and Senate for the first time since 2022, winners like U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Phoenix, in the 3rd District talked about turning their attention forward, onto what Democrats can do for people in Arizona and beyond.
“Every committee in Congress will be looking at oversight work that will be critical, to hold the (Trump) administration accountable for (the conflict with Iran) and the corruption that has taken place,” Ansari told The Center Square on Friday. “But also, with the House and the Senate, we have a real opportunity to pass policies that will help the American people in very tangible ways.”
The Center Square reached out to staff for each of the nine candidates who had either been declared victors or who were leading their congressional races on Friday afternoon. Representatives for Mendoza and reelected U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Tucson (7th District), did not respond to requests for comment.
What’s next
Chief among the ways Ansari hopes the Democrats can help Americans is to restore cuts to Medicaid that have taken place in recent years, while also finding ways to bring down the costs associated with childcare, housing and transportation.
Ansari, who sat on the House’s committees on Natural Resources and Oversight and Government Reform during the last session, said she wants the Democratic Party’s newfound majority to bring accountability back to the nation’s capital.
To do that, the Phoenix native hopes to get legislation through Congress that would prohibit members from trading stocks, which she said would go a long way towards hedging the corruption that she believes has gone on in Washington for too long.
“I think people are really fed up with that,” Ansari said. “People are struggling in Arizona and across the country, and they’re seeing an administration that very brazenly tells them that they don’t care.”
Elsewhere in the Phoenix area, another Democratic incumbent who sailed to reelection this cycle is U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, who rolled past Zudhi Jasser, R-Scottsdale, to win Arizona’s 4th District.
Stanton, who has been in Congress since 2018, told The Center Square that he and his fellow Democrats in the House will seek to end President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he cites as a direct threat to the country’s economy.
He also seconded Ansari’s comments on healthcare, vowing to bring down costs and help Arizonans save money.
“We’re going to put votes on the floor to reverse his tariffs, restore the tax credits that help people afford health insurance, and reverse the Medicaid cuts that threaten their care,” Stanton said.
First-time winners
Shah, who became the first Democrat to win Arizona’s 1st District since Rep. Tom O’Halleran in 2016, said his goal for his first term in Washington, D.C., is to answer the call of those who put him in office.
“The American people sent a very clear message to us and said we want you to focus on daily kitchen table type of issues that are impacting our lives,” Shah said. “So we have to roll up our sleeves, get to work and fix those problems for our families.”
The former Arizona House member defeated retired NFL place kicker Jay Feely, a Republican, in the 1st District race, taking in 52.39% of the vote to 45.39% for Feely.
When asked about his comfortable margin of victory, Shah said voters trusted his background in medicine and his pragmatic approach to politics, believing he had the right background to serve the Phoenix area district for the next two years.
“The core of my message has been that I’m grassroots,” Shah told The Center Square. “I’ve knocked on over 28,000 doors personally during my time in office, and I’m going to take their concerns to Washington D.C. rather than having D.C. dictate to us what’s going on here.
“I also ran on my very bipartisan record in the state House,” he said. “I had several Republican endorsements, and I think that was deeply appreciated.”
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