JoAnna Mendoza, the Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, is under increasing scrutiny as her past associations and financial disclosures come to light during the campaign.
Links to police‑defunding groups
Mendoza has attended fundraisers organised by groups that have publicly supported the defunding of police, while she maintains that she opposes the movement. In June, the Heart of Los Angeles Democratic Club co‑hosted an event in Brentwood and praised the Los Angeles Black Lives Matter chapter’s 2020 effort to defund police. The same club also backed a 2020 bill that would have shifted police funding.
Earlier in the year, Mendoza was the main speaker at a January fundraiser held by the Stonewall Democratic Club. That club had issued a 2020 letter calling for the removal of public money from police forces in order to address what it described as systemic, abusive and unlawful lethal force against Black and Brown people.
Contradictory statements on police resources
The Mendoza campaign now asserts that she has repeatedly stated that police require more resources, including body‑cameras and training. However, during a virtual town hall in 2020, she expressed support for the reallocation of funding away from police and linked police actions to many deaths caused by police brutality. She later clarified in a separate forum that she does not support defunding the police.
Political fallout
Shortly after her earlier comments resurfaced, the Arizona Police Association endorsed Republican Representative Juan Ciscomani, her opponent, signalling a shift in law‑enforcement support toward the Republican candidate.
Financial disclosures
Initial campaign financial disclosures listed Mendoza’s net worth as being up to $4.7 million. A filing in May 2025 reduced the reported assets to no more than $336 thousand and added a previously omitted rental property in Tucson, valued between $250 thousand and $500 thousand.
The Mendoza campaign did not respond to requests for comment on any of these matters.