JoAnna Mendoza

JoAnna Mendoza

Democratic Party

Candidate, U.S. House Arizona District 6

Elections and appointments

Next election

August 4, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

American Military University, 2013

Graduate

Grand Canyon University, 2019

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Navy

Years of service

1994 - 1997

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1998 - 2016

Personal

Birthplace

Florence, Ariz.

Religion

Spiritual

Profession

Veterans outreach coordinator

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

JoAnna Mendoza (Democratic Party) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 6th Congressional District. She declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on August 4, 2026.^[source]

Biography

JoAnna Mendoza was born in Florence, Arizona. She served in the U.S. Navy from 1994 to 1997 and the U.S. Marine Corps from 1998 to 2016. Mendoza did two tours in Iraq and one tour in Afghanistan.

Mendoza earned a bachelor's degree from American Military University in 2013 and a master's degree from Grand Canyon University in 2019. Her career experience includes working as a veterans outreach coordinator for Pima Community College, a program manager at A Place Called Home, and a veteran services representative for Congressman Tom O'Halleran (D).

Elections

2026

See also: Arizona's 6th Congressional District election, 2026

General election

The primary will occur on August 4, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. Additional general election candidates will be added here following the primary.

General election for U.S. House Arizona District 6

Gary Swing and Trevor Dickerson are running in the general election for U.S. House Arizona District 6 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Gary Swing (G)
		Trevor Dickerson (Independent)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mo Goldman (D)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 6

Johnathan Buma, Chris Donat, JoAnna Mendoza, Samantha Severson, and Aiden Swallow are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 6 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Johnathan Buma
		Chris Donat
		JoAnna Mendoza
		Samantha Severson
	Submit photo	Aiden Swallow

---

	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 6

Incumbent Juan Ciscomani is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 6 on August 4, 2026.

		Candidate
		Juan Ciscomani

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Mendoza received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D)
• Frmr. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D)

2020

See also: Arizona State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for Arizona State Senate District 11

Incumbent Vince Leach defeated JoAnna Mendoza in the general election for Arizona State Senate District 11 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vince Leach (R)	54.4	72,563
		JoAnna Mendoza (D)	45.6	60,818

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 133,381
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 11

JoAnna Mendoza defeated Linda Patterson in the Democratic primary for Arizona State Senate District 11 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		JoAnna Mendoza	57.4	14,957
	Submit photo	Linda Patterson	42.6	11,080

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 26,037
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 11

Incumbent Vince Leach advanced from the Republican primary for Arizona State Senate District 11 on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Vince Leach	100.0	29,794

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 29,794
= 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.

Endorsements

To view Mendoza's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

JoAnna Mendoza has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to JoAnna Mendoza asking her to fill out the survey. If you are JoAnna Mendoza, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

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You can ask JoAnna Mendoza to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@joannamendoza.com.

2020

Video for Ballotpedia

Video submitted to Ballotpedia Released April 19, 2020

JoAnna Mendoza completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Mendoza'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.

JoAnna Mendoza is a retired Marine, mom, and native Arizonan. She's a small-town kid from a rural community and a proud product of government assistance programs like food stamps and section 8 housing. Her story isn't unique. It's the story of many children growing up in Arizona today. It's just one that isn't often told. At the age of 17, JoAnna answered the call to serve our country and joined the military. After 20 years of honorable military service and several deployments to combat environments in Iraq and Afghanistan, JoAnna returned home to Arizona with her son. Seeking to continue a life of service, she began volunteering and was appointed to serve as a governing board member in her small rural school district in Red Rock, AZ. She has had the honor and privilege of serving our communities as a congressional staffer in Arizona's First Congressional District. JoAnna never planned to run for office, but she saw the need for elected leaders who will fight for Arizonans. We deserve an Arizona where everyone can succeed, regardless of zip code - with access to quality public education, high-paying jobs, affordable healthcare, and a sustainable environment. A place where all children can grow up in safe and prospering communities. JoAnna understands the issues impacting Legislative District 11. She fought her way out of poverty, fought to protect our Constitutional rights, and now she stands ready to fight for the people of Arizona as State Senator in District 11.

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?

• Community Access & Engagement: I will ensure the people of District 11 have access to speak with me to share concerns and valuable insights about the District's needs.
• Civility & Working Across the Aisle: I will place principles over politics, putting the interests of the people and the District first.
• Creating Action-Oriented Solutions: I will place a priority on solving problems, focusing on creating solutions that are viable and implementable.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My mission is to ensure that the communities of District 11 are safe and thriving. My first order of business as your State Senator will be to transform the government we have into the responsive government that we need. I am committed to improving our public education system, increasing access to affordable healthcare, and preserving our natural environment and scarce water resources. I am also passionate about ensuring that our veterans, service members, and their families get the support they need.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

I believe that integrity and loyalty to the people they serve are critical traits that elected officials should demonstrate and operate under. Elected officials should have the courage to stand up for what is right, even if it's not popular or means losing an election.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

As an elected official, serving people is the main part of your job. My life has always been one of service. Service to my country, service to my community, and service to the people of Arizona. The other part of serving as an elected official is listening to understand, not to respond. I am dedicated to being a voice for the people of District 11 and listening to the needs of our communities. Lastly, elected officials need to have a fighting spirit that will enable them to find solutions for the problems affecting those you represent and serve. I'm a fighter. In the Marine Corps, as a mother, and in the State Legislature, I will never stop fighting for the people of District 11 and our future.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was before the age of 10, working alongside my parents, who were farm workers in the cotton fields. It was back-breaking work, but it taught me the value of hard work and earning a dollar. It also exposed me to the reality of how many people are forced to work long hours in challenging conditions with little pay and no benefits, and the need for stronger workers' rights.

What is your favorite book? Why?

My favorite book is the Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It teaches some valuable life lessons: 1) Life is a journey, enjoy it.; 2) You will fail, but don't give up; and 3) Don't let fear keep you from achieving your dreams.

What do you perceive to be your state’s greatest challenges over the next decade?

Besides the current COVID-19 pandemic, the biggest challenge that our state faces is political partisanship. Unless we can come together to find solutions for the challenges facing our communities, we will all continue to pay the price for our inability to work together as a team for the greater good.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes. We cannot continue to operate with an "us versus them" mentality. The division in our state and in our nation is harmful. We must take control of both chambers of the State Legislature, but we cannot turn around and treat others the same way they've treated us. An eye for an eye approach doesn't get us anywhere. I will always live by my Democratic values and work to improve the lives of the people of Arizona - fighting for public education, accessible and affordable healthcare, protecting our natural resources, and equality for all Arizonans. I will never compromise those values. There are many in the current GOP majority who I will never see eye to eye with on many issues. But I believe that we can find common ground and shared values with others across the aisle. The ultimate goal is improving the lives of the people who we represent. We need to make sure that is always our focus and find a way back to developing bipartisan solutions rather than fighting over Party lines.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Although legislators do not get to choose which committees they would like to serve on, I believe that my skills and experience would be best utilized by serving on the following committees: Education, Higher Education and Workforce Development, Rules, Health and Human Services, Natural Resources and Energy, and Appropriations.

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 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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JoAnna Mendoza campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2026*	U.S. House Arizona District 6	Candidacy Declared primary	$1,252,925	$667,690
2020	Arizona State Senate District 11	Lost general	$220,797	N/A**
Grand total			$1,473,721	$667,690
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
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also

2026 Elections

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Candidate

U.S. House Arizona District 6

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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)