AZ-06 Race Backgrounder

Kirsten Engel Is A Climate Champion Who Will Protect Our Progress 

Environmental Law Professor and former State Senator Kirsten Engel has been a climate champion for Arizonans and is uniquely qualified to advance climate action in Congress. Engel filed an amicus brief in the first U.S. Supreme Court case as a lawyer to recognize that greenhouse gas pollution contributes to climate change. As an environmental law professor, she has published several papers on state and local government responses to climate change. She is committed to growing Arizona’s clean energy production and manufacturing to fight climate change, lower energy costs, and create tens of thousands of good jobs. Engel believes Arizona is a state where solar energy can thrive and touted the clean energy plan’s ability to bring 245 new, good-paying jobs to her district. She also understands that Arizona is ground zero for the impacts of climate change and would ensure Arizonans have the resources necessary when dangerous heat waves strike. While serving in the state senate, Engel also sponsored a bill requiring the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to establish water quality standards for PFAS. In Congress, she will fight to conserve Arizona’s water by stopping big corporations from depleting the state’s water reserves. It’s clear that Engel would be a champion for Arizona’s climate in Congress. 

In stark contrast, Representative— Juan Ciscomani is running for reelection, and his time in Congress has shown that he is a threat to Arizona’s climate and an ally to Big Oil. Ciscomani wants to have it both ways – he claims climate change is a key issue, yet supports policies that would keep Arizona dependent on dirty fossil fuels and voted to cut the Environmental Protection Agency by 40 percent. He’s also voted for legislation meant to slow the deployment of clean energy to delay the transition away from dirty fossil fuels. Ciscomani has proven that he’ll prioritize corporate interests over everyday Arizonans, even regarding the state’s water. Ciscomani worked as an advisor for Governor Ducey when the administration exacerbated Arizona’s water scarcity crisis by cutting a sweetheart deal with a Saudi Arabian company to use the state’s water – enough to supply 54,000 homes – to grow feed for cattle in Saudi Arabia, and took thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the company’s lobbyist. He also sided against his constituents and voted to cut $4.5 billion from a program that helps bring down skyrocketing energy bills during extreme and dangerous heat waves. Ciscomani’s record is just as extreme on oil and gas, he’s voted for more oil and gas leases and a bill that granted tax breaks to Big Oil. Unsurprisingly, Big Oil has financed his campaigns, giving Ciscomani over $125,000 throughout his career. His record in office shows that Ciscomani would be a dire threat to Arizonans’ health if reelected.  

Ciscomani is vastly out of touch with Arizonans. While 78% of Arizona voters believe climate change is a serious problem and 75%  support shifting investments away from dirty fossil fuels and toward clean energy sources like wind and solar, he voted 31 times to repeal the clean energy plan, even as it has brought three new projects and 245 jobs to his district. In Arizona, the impacts of climate change will mean hotter temperatures and more intense heat waves, decreased flow of water in the Colorado River, increased frequency and intensity of wildfires, and conversion of some rangelands into desert. 

The state’s agriculture, its economy, and people’s health will all be hurt: 

• In the past decade, Arizona has experienced 13 billion-dollar climate-related disasters that caused $131.6 billion in damages and killed 805 people. 

• Arizona is the ninth-fastest warming state in the nation. Specifically Tucson — located in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District — is the eighth-fastest warming city. 
• Arizona outdoor workers could lose up to $2.6 billion in earnings every year due to extreme heat, with the counties of Pima and Pinal—which are partly located in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District—being hit hardest. The average Arizona outdoor worker would lose $1,800 per year due to extreme heat, and workers in Pinal County would be most affected.
• Drought and rising temperatures have lowered the level of the Colorado River, threatening the 40 million Americans in Arizona and six other states who rely on it. The Central Arizona Project delivers Colorado River water to roughly 6 million people in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties.
• Arizona has some of the worst air quality in the nation.  According to the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air report, the Tucson-Nogales metropolitan area ranked 33rd for high ozone days, 45th for 24-hour particle pollution, and 27th for annual particle pollution.
• Pinal County received F grades for all three measures of pollution – ozone, annual particle pollution, and 24-hour particle pollution. Pinal County is the 16th most polluted county in the U.S. by ozone and ranks 18th for annual particle pollution. 

Advancing Climate Action

If You Say One Thing

Engel is uniquely qualified to advance climate action in Congress. As a lawyer, Engel filed an amicus brief in the first U.S. Supreme Court case to recognize that greenhouse gas pollution contributes to climate change, and as an environmental law professor, she has published several papers on state and local government responses to climate change. In stark contrast, Ciscomani supports policies that would keep Arizona dependent on dirty fossil fuels and voted for a 40% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Compare Records

• During her legal career, Engel filed an amicus brief in the first U.S. Supreme Court case to recognize that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change. 
• As an environmental law professor, Engel’s research emphasizes state and local government responses to climate change and she has published several papers on addressing the crisis. 
• Engel knows climate change threatens Southern Arizona’s future and will make climate action a priority in Congress. 
• Ciscomani wants to have it both ways – he claims climate change is a key issue, yet supports policies that would keep Arizona dependent on dirty fossil fuels and pollute the state. 
• Ciscomani voted for legislation that would cut spending on environmental programs to the lowest levels in decades, including a 40% cut to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Expanding The Clean Energy Economy

If You Say One Thing

The clean energy plan has already spurred investments and helped create 245 new clean energy jobs in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. Engel has committed to growing Arizona’s clean energy production, touted Arizona’s ability to be a place where solar energy thrives, and celebrated the clean energy plan’s job creation in the district. Meanwhile, Ciscomani voted 31 times to repeal the clean energy plan and sought to slow down the deployment of clean energy to delay the transition away from dirty fossil fuels. 

Compare Records

• Engel has committed to growing Arizona’s clean energy production and manufacturing to not only fight climate change, but also lower energy costs and create tens of thousands of good jobs. 
• Engel said that with so many sunny days, Arizona could be a place where solar energy thrives. 
• Engel touted the clean energy plan’s ability to bring good-paying jobs to the district. 
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted for legislation that would block over a dozen states from setting stringent cleaner car standards. 
• Ciscomani opposed clean energy incentives and in 2023 voted for legislation meant to slow the deployment of offshore wind technology and delay the transition away from dirty fossil fuels. 
• Ciscomani campaigned against the clean energy plan and voted 31 times to repeal the legislation. 

Water Access & Pollution

If You Say One Thing

Engel sponsored a bill requiring the Department of Environmental Quality to establish water quality standards for PFAS and would fight to conserve Arizona’s water by stopping big corporations from depleting the state’s water reserves. Ciscomani meanwhile, sold out Arizona’s water. He worked as an advisor for Governor Ducey when the administration exacerbated Arizona’s water scarcity crisis by cutting a sweetheart deal with a Saudi Arabian company to use the state’s water – enough to supply 54,000 homes – to grow feed for cattle in Saudi Arabia, while taking thousands of dollars in campaign donations from the company’s lobbyist. 

Compare Records

• Engel sponsored a bill requiring the Department of Environmental Quality to establish water quality standards for PFAS. 
• Ciscomani worked as an advisor for Governor Ducey, an administration that exacerbated Arizona’s water scarcity crisis by cutting a sweetheart deal with a Saudi Arabian company to use Arizona’s water – enough to supply 54,000 homes – to grow feed for cattle in Saudi Arabia. 
• Ciscomani $4,800 in campaign donations from the lobbyist of the Saudi Arabian company that got a sweetheart deal to use Arizona’s water to grow feed for cattle in Saudi Arabia. 
• In 2024, Ciscomani voted for a bill that would cut $678 million from Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds, worsening access to safe drinking water for his constituents. 

Extreme Heat

If You Say One Thing

While Engel understands that Arizona is ground zero for the impacts of climate change and would ensure Arizonans have resources when dangerous heat waves strike, Ciscomani voted to cut $4.5 billion from a program that helps bring down skyrocketing energy bills during times of extreme and dangerous heat. 

Compare Records

• Engel said Arizona is ground zero for the impacts of climate change, citing droughts, wildfires, and extreme heat. 
• Engel called to protect Arizonans from the effects of climate change and said communities should have resources when dangerous heat waves strike. 
• Ciscomani voted to cut $4.5 billion from the High-Efficiency Electric Home Rebate Program, helping bring down skyrocketing energy bills during times of extreme and dangerous heat. 

Holding Big Oil Accountable

If You Say One Thing

While Engel is committed to a transition away from fossil fuels and towards a clean energy economy, Ciscomani voted for more oil and gas leases and a bill that granted tax breaks to Big Oil. Ciscomani has shown commitment to Big Oil, and the industry has financed his campaigns, giving Ciscomani over $125,000 throughout his career.  

Compare Records

• Engel is committed to a transition away from fossil fuels and to a clean energy economy. 
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted for legislation that would block the 20-year withdrawal of oil and gas leasing on federal lands near Chaco Culture National Historic Park. 
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted for legislation requiring quarterly onshore oil and gas leasing sales. 
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted for legislation that eliminated an Environmental Protection Agency program that provided incentives for petroleum and natural gas systems to reduce their pollution. 
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted for legislation that would limit the drawdown of petroleum in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve until the Department of Energy submitted a plan to increase the percentage of federal lands leased for oil and gas production.
• In 2023, Ciscomani voted against a bill that would repeal long-overdue, commonsense reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing program enacted in the clean energy plan. 
• In 2024, Ciscomani voted for a bill that granted tax breaks to big oil and gas corporations. 
• Ciscomani has taken over $125,000 from the oil and gas industry over his career, including $97,008 during his 2024 campaign and $29,472 during his 2022 campaign.