Congressional candidates debate housing, immigration

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

Voters in Arizona will head to the polls Tuesday to make decisions in consequential congressional primaries that could determine the balance of power in Congress in November.

Candidates in Arizona’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd congressional districts have focused their campaigns on housing costs, healthcare affordability and immigration enforcement.

District 1

Incumbent Rep. David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale, decided not to run for reelection in the 1st Congressional District. Instead, he opted for the Republican primary in the Arizona governor’s race against U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert.

Three Republicans and four Democrats are vying for their respective party nominations for the contentious seat. In 2024, Schweikert secured 51.9% of the vote against Democrat Amish Shah, who is running in the district again.

Shah, a representative in the Arizona House, has focused his campaign on preventing further cuts to Medicare and Social Security. He also pushed against the Trump administration’s cuts to Medicaid through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“In Congress, he’ll work to lower costs for hardworking Arizonans, protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, fight for abortion rights, and keep families safe,” Shah’s website reads.

Shah is facing a challenge from former broadcast journalist Marlen Galán-Woods, who switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party in 2018.

“I have always been pro-choice, pro-democracy, pro-climate,” Galán-Woods said. “My values never changed. What changed was the Republican Party.”

Shah and Galán-Woods competed against one another in the 2024 Democratic primary, with Shah taking the ultimate win. However, publishing executive Rick McCartney and CEO Jonathan Treble are also seeking the Democratic nomination.

McCartney told The Center Square he will focus his campaign on pushing back against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities and increasing access to affordable housing. He said he supports the ROAD to Housing Act, recently passed legislation that puts limits on institutional investors who seek to purchase single-family homes.

“There’s a time period before big corporations can come in and purchase those properties, leaving it initially to families and individuals,” McCartney said. “I think that’s a great policy for America.”

Treble has advocated for reversing the cuts to Medicaid made through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and strengthening protections within the Affordable Care Act.

“I will fight to reverse the Medicaid cuts while working to lower premiums, protect coverage for preexisting conditions, and invest in mental health services and rural clinics,” Treble said in a statement to The Center Square. “No one should face a life-threatening illness alone or go broke trying to fight it.”

Arizona Rep. Joseph Chaplik, former NFL analyst Jay Feely and technology consultant John Trobough are seeking the Republican nomination for the seat.

President Donald Trump endorsed Feely in January. Feely has called for supporting the Trump administration and lowering costs for Americans.

“We must maintain a GOP majority to ensure lower costs for Arizona’s families, safety in our neighborhoods and the preservation of the American Dream,” Feely’s website reads.

Chaplik, Feely, Shah, Trobough and Galán-Woods did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for an interview.

Trobough said he will focus on the rising national debt in the United States and seek solutions to address the crisis.

“We are spending money we do not have,” Trobough said in a debate video posted to social media. “As Republicans, we cannot cut taxes and then refuse to cut spending.”

Treble leads in donations across both parties with more than $3.8 million in contributions, according to the Federal Elections Commission. He has received more than $11,000 over the last year from Live Oak Bank, based in Wilmington, N.C.

Galán-Woods follows with more than $2.1 million in contributions, including $7,000 over the last year from Lupa Systems CEO James Murdoch. Feely follows Treble with $1.6 million in contributions, including a $1,000 donation from the Public Power PAC of Arizona.

Shah had more than $1.3 million in contributions. McCartney received more than $612,000, and Chaplik had more than $304,000.

District 2

U.S. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Arizona, is looking to defend his seat for a third term in Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District. He will face a challenge in November from Democrat Jonathan Nez, the only candidate from a major party to challenge the incumbent representative. Both candidates are running unopposed in their party’s primary on Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Crane for the seat in 2025.

Crane has called for lowering taxes and implementing more support for small business in Congress. He also pushed to support the Trump administration’s healthcare and immigration policies.

Crane introduced the End H-1B Visa Abuse Act of 2026, legislation that would pause the issuance of H-1B visas until a cap of 25,000 visas per fiscal year is put in place, and the visas are limited to a maximum of six years.

“The H-1B program has morphed into a betrayal of hardworking American citizens,” Crane wrote on social media. “I introduced the End H-1B Abuse Act of 2026 to halt and reform this flawed program. We can’t accept the status quo.”

Nez, a former president of the Navajo Nation, is challenging Crane’s incumbent candidacy. He has focused his campaign on expanding access to rural healthcare facilities.

“Nez is committed to reforming government and making it accountable to working Arizonans, creating jobs, cutting high gas and food costs, supporting Arizona veterans, and protecting the right to choose,” Nez’s website reads.

Nez and Crane did not respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview.

Crane has a significant fundraising advantage over Nez with more than $8.6 million in contributions according to most recent FEC filings. Nez has slightly more than $3.2 million in contributions raised.

Nez has received $1,000 from the Sunflower Seeds Political Action Committee, $3,600 from the Zinc Collective PAC and $7,000 from James McClave, a trader from the Jane Street Group.

Crane has received donations of more than $10,000 from the American Revival PAC, $5,000 from the Freedom Caucus Fund and $2,000 from Elevance Health.

District 3

In Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Arizona, is looking to defend her seat as she seeks a second term against Republican Nicholas Glenn, a write-in candidate.

Ansari has gained attention during her freshman year as a member of Congress for being an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice in its handling of documents associated with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

She has also remained critical of U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. Ansari recently called for the impeachment of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth over the handling of the conflict.

“When it comes to Hegseth, this is a man that is willfully incompetent,” Ansari said in a video on social media. “The man has committed many impeachable offenses prior to the war in Iran, but it was that bombing in the school in Minab that killed more than 160 children that was the final straw for me.”

Ansari didn’t respond to The Center Square’s request for an interview.

Glenn, an industrial engineer, is pushing for a write-in campaign as the Republican candidate seeking to face Ansari in November. He did not respond to The Center Square’s multiple requests for an interview.

Glenn called for a coalition of candidates and voters who do not fit either major political party to support him

“It will take cooperation between the two political parties to resolve this country’s greatest issues,” Glenn’s website reads.

Ansari has received more than $1.3 million in contributions toward her campaign She received $10,000 over the last year from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC. Glenn’s financial records do not appear on the Federal Elections Commission website since he is running as a write-in candidate and therefore did not file his candidacy as usual.

Polls for the Arizona primary will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST on July 21. For early results that evening, see thecentersquare.com/arizona.

For more information, visit the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office website, azsos.gov/elections.