Republican in toss-up House race says he won’t be a ‘rubber stamp’

Rep. Juan Ciscomani also touts his immigrant roots in a new video as he seeks reelection in Arizona.

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Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Arizona) during a debate with Democratic nominee JoAnna Mendoza on Sept. 10. (Joe Rondone/Arizona Republic/USA Today Network/Reuters)

Rep. Juan Ciscomani — an incumbent Republican running in a swing district in Arizona — is out with a new campaign video in which he says he won’t be a “rubber stamp” in Washington while also touting his background as an immigrant.

“As an immigrant, I’m grateful for the opportunity America has given me,” he says directly to the camera. “I’m not a rubber stamp for anyone.”

Ciscomani is running in a toss-up race against Democrat JoAnna Mendoza, a retired Marine who on the trail has argued that Ciscomani has consistently voted for Republican policies — including the One Big Beautiful Bill — that have made life more expensive for the district’s residents.

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Like Ciscomani, other Republican candidates running in Hispanic-heavy districts this year have pointed to their immigrant roots, or their promises to protect immigrant populations from anti-immigrant policies. In Florida, this strategy backfired a bit for Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R-Florida), who ignited President Donald Trump’s ire after she criticized some of his immigration policies.

On Ciscomani’s ad, Chuck Rocha, a Latino political strategist who specializes in the Southwest, said “you don’t do this if you’re winning.”

“This is how you KNOW he is [losing],” Rocha wrote on X.

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