Early results for Congressional rematch between Ciscomami and Engel show close race once again

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Congressional District 6 has a split personality with urban voters in Pima County and rural voters in Cochise, Greenlee, Graham and part of Pinal.

Democrat Kirsten Engel is vying for a win in Arizona’s Congressional District 6, aiming to secure a seat that narrowly eluded her in 2022, losing to Republican Juan Ciscomani by less than one percentage point, a tight race that took days to call.

Tonight’s earlier bomb threat in Cochise County caused a voting disruption that may again prolong the suspense of a race that already had a reputation for taking a long time to settle. It took six days to settle that previous race between Ciscomani and Engel.

Talking to his supporters at his election night party, he spoke of the path that brought him to his current seat in Congress:

“Four years ago we launched this believing in the power of a positive message, believing the American Dream,” the incumbent said earlier this election night.

The closely called-2022 race is one of the reasons Engel says she decided to give it another go.

With this year’s numbers tight again, Arizona could be in for another nail-biting wait. Early election results show Engel with a slight lead, but the race looks to remain close as more ballots are counted–and as those anticipated Cochise County numbers begin to roll in late Tuesday–the first numbers didn’t drop until around 10 p.m. due to the bomb threat-related evacuation.

Ciscomani said he has been striving to focus on what he can do for the community, “instead of just focusing on what's wrong with the other side.”

Both candidates have rallied strong support around divisive issues, including the economy, border security, and government spending, drawing attention from both state and national observers.

As the vote count continues, District 6 remains one of Arizona’s most-watched races, potentially mirroring the drawn-out results of 2022.