-
- Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani and Democratic challenger JoAnna Mendoza are battling over some of the hardest-fought political turf in America.
asserted
Ciscomani → battle → America
- But many voters regard the contest as more of a proxy fight between the president and his antagonists.
MARANA, Ariz. —
asserted
voters → regard → president
Michael Falk was heading into the Pima County branch library to drop off his ballot when he stopped to discuss Tuesday’s midterm election.
asserted
he → head → election
Falk, a 66-year-old retiree and political independent, was casting his vote for the Democrat, JoAnna Mendoza, even though he hardly knows a thing about her.
asserted
he → cast → her
But Falk knows — and loathes — a good deal about President Trump.
asserted
Falk → know → Trump
“From the very beginning, when he stepped on the political stage, he made it quite clear to the people who were silenced for a long time, the bigots of the United States, he gave them a voice, and he told those people, ‘It’s OK for you to think the way that you do.’
asserted
you → step → way
“And then that just took off like wildfire,” Falk said, sweeping his arm like a moving wall of flame, “and that’s why we have all these laws that are against brown people and illegal people.”
asserted
that → take → people
Gregory Corron confessed he’s not too familiar with Mendoza’s opponent, the Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani.
asserted
he → confess → opponent
But Corron, a 67-year-old computer programmer, voted for Trump three times and believes the president is moving the country in the right direction.
“I think, for instance, exposing fraud is a big thing.
asserted
exposing → vote → fraud
Technology is taking off.
asserted
Technology → take → ?
I’m totally excited about that,” said Corron, who was killing time at a strip mall in Oro Valley while the tires on his Lexus were being replaced.
asserted
tires → ’m → Lexus
“I think the economy is strong.
asserted
economy → think → ?
The stock market is doing well.
asserted
market → do → ?
Employment is doing well.”
asserted
Employment → do → ?
For that reason, Corron cast his ballot for Ciscomani, fearful of what might happen if Democrats take control of Congress.
uncertain
Democrats → cast → Congress
“The reforms that Trump started,” Corron said, “need to continue.”
asserted
Corron → start → that
Mendoza and Ciscomani have assaulted the voters of southern Arizona for months, overwhelming their senses and curdling the airwaves with a ceaseless barrage of acrid advertising.
asserted
Mendoza → assault → advertising
Together, the two rivals and their allies have spent tens of millions of dollars on the contest, which both parties have made a top priority.
asserted
parties → spend → which
And yet, to a large degree, Mendoza and Ciscomani are mere stand-ins, their candidacies serving as little more than proxies for the president and his opposition.
asserted
candidacies → serve → president
Democrats appear a cinch to win control of the House, but the Senate remains a toss-up.
asserted
Senate → appear → House
Laura Lentner, another Oro Valley resident, allowed as how Ciscomani has done some good things.
asserted
Ciscomani → allow → things
He is not, the Democrat said, a bad man.
asserted
Democrat → say → ?
“But his continued support of Trump negates it all for me,” said the 73-year-old retired dental hygienist.
asserted
hygienist → negate → me
It’s about time, Lentner suggested, Republican lawmakers stand up and “stop being afraid of [Trump] and his constituents.”
uncertain
lawmakers → ’ → Trump
Arizona’s 6th Congressional District is anchored in eastern Tucson and its suburbs, sprawling north toward Phoenix, east to New Mexico and south all the way to the U.S.-Mexico border.
asserted
District → anchor → border
The arid landscape is creased with rugged mountain ranges, cleaved by scenic canyons and filled with vast stretches of open space interrupted by midsize cities and small towns that spring like oases from the desert floor.
asserted
that → crease → floor
In recent years, the terrain has been some of the hardest-fought political turf in the nation.
asserted
terrain → fight → nation
Joe Biden carried the district in 2020 by less than a percentage point.
asserted
Biden → carry → point
Four years later, Trump flipped it by the same tiny margin.
asserted
Trump → flip → margin
Ciscomani, bidding for a third term, has won two nail-biters.
asserted
Ciscomani → bid → biters
He’s facing a fresh opponent in Mendoza, a Marine veteran and former congressional staffer.
asserted
He → face → Mendoza
The district has a significant Latino population — Ciscomani and Mendoza are Mexican American — and a sizable number of seniors, veterans and military personnel.
asserted
Ciscomani → have → seniors
Mendoza has leaned into her Navy and Marine Corps service.
asserted
Mendoza → lean → service
“Battle Tested. Ready To Lead,” her billboards declare, including one near the Ft. Huachuca Army base.
asserted
billboards → test → base
(His signs tout “Veterans For Ciscomani.”)
asserted
signs → tout → Ciscomani
Mendoza has attacked the incumbent as a “spineless” tool of Trump, putting the president front and center in her avalanche of advertising.
asserted
Mendoza → attack → advertising
Ciscomani’s incessant ads tout his bipartisanship — he hails from the establishment wing of the Republican Party — and portray Mendoza as a tool of the unhinged left.
asserted
he → tout → left
Ordinary citizens across the country are participating in grassroots efforts to guard against possible election interference by the Trump administration.
asserted
citizens → participate → administration
In that way their campaigns distill the push-pull of this midterm election, which, like every one before, amounts to a referendum on the occupant of the Oval Office.
asserted
which → distill → Office
For Trump supporters, that means explaining away vexations like inflation and the war with Iran, twin anchors dragging down the president and fellow Republicans.
asserted
that → mean → president
…and 70 more, not listed.
The Aporia
