Kurt Kroemer

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Kurt Kroemer

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

July 30, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Binghamton University

Graduate

American University, School of International Service

Personal

Profession

Nonprofit CEO

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Kurt Kroemer (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 1st Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on July 30, 2024.

Kroemer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Kurt Kroemer earned a bachelor's degree in political science and history from Binghamton University, and a master's degree in international affairs from American University. His career experience includes working as chief operating officer with Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and with Humanity United, and as a regional CEO with the American Red Cross.

Elections

2024

See also: Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2024

Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Democratic primary)

Arizona's 1st Congressional District election, 2024 (July 30 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 1

Incumbent David Schweikert defeated Amish Shah in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Schweikert (R)	51.9	225,538
		Amish Shah (D)	48.1	208,966

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 434,504
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sarah Wharton (Independent)
• Bryce Beckstrom (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 1

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 1 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Amish Shah	23.5	17,214
		Andrei Cherny	21.3	15,596
		Marlene Galán-Woods	21.2	15,490
		Conor O'Callaghan	18.5	13,539
		Andrew Horne	12.3	8,991
		Kurt Kroemer	3.2	2,356

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 73,186
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Cody Newman (D)
• Melissa Lamore (D)
• John Williamson (D)
• Robert Glasgow (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 1

Incumbent David Schweikert defeated Kimberly George and Robert Backie in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 1 on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		David Schweikert	62.7	62,811
		Kimberly George	27.5	27,587
		Robert Backie	9.8	9,854

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 100,252
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Paul Burton (R)
• Reina Patocs (R)

Libertarian primary election

No Libertarian candidates ran in the primary.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michelle Martin (L)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kroemer in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Kurt Kroemer completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kroemer's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I’ve spent my life leading in moments of crisis and helping those in need. My parents instilled in me the simple lessons of right and wrong - and a moral compass that requires me to lift others up, not tear them down.

For the past 15 years, I’ve been a senior executive at some of our most important and iconic organizations, including as the CEO of the American Red Cross in Arizona and as the COO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America, overseeing a $250m annual budget. I also spent 11 years working for Congress as an Investigator, holding Top Secret clearance, while working on national security and public health issues. I’ve helped to build multi-million dollar companies and served as the COO for an organization dedicated to eradicating human trafficking and genocides across the globe. It’s simple: David Schweikert is only looking out for himself. I’ve spent my life looking out for others and that’s why I am running for Congress to replace him.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Our government is broken because the corrupt, chaotic extremists like David Schweikert are only looking out for themselves and the special interests that back them. I’m running for Congress because I’ve spent my life fixing problems and helping others, and that’s exactly what I will do when I come to Congress.
• Career politicians like David Schweikert have made our government cruel to its citizens. Instead of helping everyday Arizonans with access to affordable healthcare or cheaper prescription drugs, Schweikert is focused on lining his own pockets. Instead of cruelly ignoring the needs of my fellow Arizonans, I’ll be your champion for progress and action in Congress.
• I will work tirelessly to fight for those who don’t have a voice in our government. Have you seen David Schweikert anywhere? Me neither. He’s a creature of Washington and beholden to the high-dollar lobbyists who buy him dinner. It’s a corrupt form of politics that he has perfected. I will never take corporate PAC contributions because my vote is not for sale. My vote is for the people of Arizona and this nation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Healthcare must be affordable, accessible, and choices - particularly on abortion - should be left to the patient, not politicians in Washington. Healthcare is a human right, period. Your decisions shouldn’t be at the whim of your pocketbook or a politician.

Dangerous extremists like David Schweikert have brought our democracy to the brink. Whether they’re voting to overturn elections or engaging in wide-ranging ethics scandals, politicians today won’t fight for our cherished democracy. I won’t take corporate PAC contributions, I won’t overturn free and fair elections, and I will always fight for the ideals of American democracy.

We’re failing our children and it has to stop. For decades, we’ve kicked the can on investment in public schools, childcare, and the other essentials to our next generation. When I’m in Congress, we’ll put aside the partisan bickering to deliver real results for our kids.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign website

Kroemer's campaign website stated the following:

“	Abortion is a human right Solution - Pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (61% of Americans support) Re-establish a nationwide right to abortion access Statutory right for healthcare providers to provide abortions The right to travel for an abortion Protect those who assist people in accessing abortion care Climate Change - an existential threat, we must take dramatic actions to ensure the survival of our planet Solution - provide an all-hands approach to ensure a durable path to to limit warming to 1.5 degrees celsius (94% of Americans support U.S. participation in international efforts to reduce effects of climate change) Invest in creation of jobs-building clean energy infrastructure Invest in science and research to to lower costs of clean energy Cut climate pollution and decarbonization Reduce health and environmental hazards for at-risk communities Democracy - our nation’s democracy is in grave danger and we must ensure free and fair elections, the rule of law, an independent judiciary, a free press and a strong civil society Solution - Pass the Freedom to Vote Act (70% of Americans support) Automatic and same day voter registration Require early and mail-in voting Protection against unlawful voter purges Banning partisan gerrymandering Curb dark money from undisclosed sources Economy - ensure the economy works for all and not just the few Solution - support legislation including Infrastructure and Jobs Act and CHIPS and Science Act (71% and 62% of Americans support, respectively) Investments in energy innovation Strengthen supply chains Boost American competitiveness of semiconductor manufacturing Rebuild America’s infrastructure with good-paying jobs Gun Reform - our nation must protect its citizens from the use of military assault weapons Solution - support Safer Communities Act and other steps while protecting the rights of responsible gun owners (55% to 81% of Americans support on specific solutions) Ban assault weapons Expand and strengthen background checks Implement red flag laws Prevent those convicted of domestic abuse from owning guns Healthcare - accessible and affordable healthcare should be available to everyone Solution - expand coverage and financial support (57% of Americans believe the government should ensure all Americans have healthcare) Support expanded coverage under the Inflation Reduction Act Roll back short-term insurance plans Support American Rescue Plan’s affordability provisions Expand funding for education and in-person enrollment assistance Housing - having even one person who is unhoused is a failure of our society Solution - focus on Housing First solutions (82% of Americans support the federal government helping to ensure that everyone has access to safe and affordable place to live) Reduce costs to communities by providing permanent housing Provide wrap-around services, especially for the chronically un-housed Immigration - our system is broken and a solution requires a comprehensive approach Solution - Pass the U.S. Citizenship Act (70% of Americans support comprehensive immigration reform) Establish path to citizenship for Dreamers and holders of Temporary Protected Status Create a plan by DHS to use new technologies along the border Address root causes of migration by investing in Central American countries Reform the legal immigration system, addressing backlog of green card applications LGBTQ+ Support and Protections - There is absolutely no reason why the human rights of the LGBTQ+ community should not be enshrined into law Solution - Support the Respect for Marriage Act (71% of Americans support same-sex marriage) Solution - Pass the Equality Act (70% of Americans support new civil right laws to reduce discrimination against LGBTQ people) Fill critical gaps in public accommodation non-discrimination law for everyone Add non-discrimination protections for sex, sexual orientation and gender identity to federally funded programs Add explicit non-discrimination for LGBTQ+ people in key areas of life Medicare - we must protect Medicare benefits and ensure financial solvency of the program Solution - increase taxes on households making over $400K (58% of Americans support) Increase the net investment income tax from 3.8% to 5% for those making over $400K Provide Medicare the ability to negotiate prescription drug prices Social Security - we must protect social security benefits and ensure financial solvency of the program Solution - increase social security payroll taxes for those making over $400K (76% of Americans support) Current social security taxes on paychecks end at $163K Extend social security taxes to paychecks ending at $163K and then above $400K Worker’s Rights - protecting worker’s rights to come together and bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces strengthens our economy Solution - Pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (59% of Americans support) Prevents employees seeking to join a union from being fired Allows unions to override “right-to-work” laws Allows unions to collect dues from all employees in a workplace	”
—Kurt Kroemer's campaign website (2024)

Campaign finance summary

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Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

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Kurt Kroemer campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	U.S. House Arizona District 1	Lost primary	$297,460	$297,460
Grand total			$297,460	$297,460
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

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Candidate

U.S. House Arizona District 1

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Footnotes

[show]

Arizona's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Ruben Gallego (D)

Mark Kelly (D)

Representatives

District 1

David Schweikert (R)

District 2

Eli Crane (R)

District 3

Yassamin Ansari (D)

District 4

Greg Stanton (D)

District 5

Andy Biggs (R)

District 6

Juan Ciscomani (R)

District 7

Vacant

District 8

Abraham Hamadeh (R)

District 9

Paul Gosar (R)

Republican Party (6)

Democratic Party (4)

Vacancies (1)