FACT CHECK: Juan Ciscomani Lies about Taxes, Veterans in AZ-06 Debate

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 14, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

Multiple Outlets Fact Check Ciscomani Claims, Ads

RED ROCK, AZ – On Thursday, JoAnna Mendoza participated in Arizona Clean Elections Commission’s debate for Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, showing voters why she is the independent leader that Southern Arizonans deserve in Congress. According to Arizona Public Media, during the debate, Representative Juan Ciscomani made false claims about Mendoza’s taxes and denied personally supporting policy changes that hurt veterans. Additionally, according to American Journal News, dark money groups supporting the Ciscomani campaign are running ads with Mendoza comments about tax cuts clipped and intentionally taken out of context–from six years ago.

“JoAnna is a battle-tested Marine veteran who served our country for two decades,” said Kyle McCarthy, campaign spokesperson. “In Congress, she’ll be focused on honoring our veterans and on lowering costs and tax cuts for Arizona families–not tax breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. JoAnna is running an honest race. We just wish our opponent would do the same.”

 

GET THE FACTS:

Veteran healthcare

According to AZPM:

“The claim: Mendoza blamed Ciscomani’s policies for staffing cuts at the Department of Veteran Affairs. The verdict: True.”

“In December 2024, Ciscomani said in a press release that, in light of the national debt surpassing $36 trillion, he was thrilled to join the DOGE Caucus to reduce waste and streamline government bureaucracy.

“When we talk about staff getting cut, no doctors were let go,” Ciscomani said. “That was not the case. That did not happen, OK? That’s a fact.”

Policy changes tied to DOGE, however, did lead to a net loss of physicians and medical staff, according to the VA.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the Trump Administration cut nearly 28,000 VA employees in 2025.

VA staffing cuts included 2,700 nurses, more than 1,000 medical officers, and more than 1,000 psychologists and social workers, as well as over 1,800 people tasked with evaluating veterans’ claims for benefits.

VA health centers and offices in every state have seen staffing declines, with Arizona’s VA workforce losing 575 employees.”

 

Mendoza Personal Taxes

According to AZPM:

“The claim: Ciscomani cited a report from the Arizona Daily Star to accuse JoAnna Mendoza of “cheating” on her taxes. The verdict: False.” 

“Mendoza acknowledged the error to the Republic and her campaign characterized that as a filing mistake. Records reviewed by the Republic showed she contacted Pima County on Aug. 10 to correct the property’s classification.”

 

Dirty ads 

Ads by the Congressional Leadership Fund and the National Republican Campaign Commission–spending on behalf of Juan Ciscomani–claim Mendoza wanted, “no new tax cuts, no new tax credits, or sale tax exemptions” for working Arizonans.

But here’s the full context of Jo’s quote being distorted by CLF, where Mendoza talks about her opposition to more tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations in a time of severe budget cuts. 

Full quote: “We know that there have been enormous tax breaks and tax cuts for wealthy folks and for corporations. So moving forward, there should be no new tax cuts, no new tax credits, or sale tax exemptions. We need to ensure that we work on securing additional federal fiscal relief to balance the state budget and explore new ways to modernize the tax code to ensure that everyone is paying their fair share of taxes. Now, it’s been reported that 73% of Arizona’s corporations paid $50 or less in state income taxes last year. I pay my taxes. I’m sure you pay your taxes. Shouldn’t Arizona’s corporations pay their taxes too?”

Read the full fact check by American Journal News.

###

The post FACT CHECK: Juan Ciscomani Lies about Taxes, Veterans in AZ-06 Debate appeared first on JoAnna Mendoza.