Democrat JoAnna Mendoza wins election to U.S. House in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District

Democrat JoAnna Mendoza won election Thursday to the U.S. House of Representatives representing Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, defeating Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani. Mendoza is a single mother, the daughter of farmworkers, a retired drill instructor for the U.S. Marines and a former congressional aide. She leaned heavily on that biography in her campaign against Ciscomani, who represented the district for two terms. The district that touches the U.S.-Mexico border has a long history of pingponging between the parties in close races. The Associated Press declared Mendoza the winner at 2:38 p.m. EST.