JoAnna Mendoza

A Military Leader

JoAnna Mendoza is a lifelong public servant who fought her way out of poverty. She is the daughter of farm workers and the oldest of five, where she grew up in rural Pinal County, Arizona. Despite her parents’ hard work, her family often struggled to make ends meet and at eight years old she began working in the cotton fields alongside her parents to help with household needs. At just 17, she answered the call to serve, enlisting in the U.S. Navy before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. During her 20-year military career, she served as a drill instructor, an instructor at Marine Officer Candidate School, and staff non-commissioned officer for sexual assault prevention and response. Additionally, her service includes deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. After two decades in military uniform, Mendoza returned home to raise her son, Aidan, and continue her education by earning her master’s degree in leadership from Grand Canyon University. 

She brought the same courage and determination from her military leadership to her community: working to ensure that veterans, working families, and rural Arizonans have an authentic voice. Her experience as a veteran returning home working to find her way led her to work in the constituent services office of former Rep. Tom O’Halleran doing casework for veterans. She went on to become the executive director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress, and later worked for a political consulting firm. Most recently, Mendoza has been the executive director at VetsForward and has led a veteran-driven movement dedicated to defending democracy, protecting our rights, and ensuring economic and social opportunities for those who served.

Providing Commonsense Solutions for Arizonans

As a veteran and a person who knows what it means to struggle, Mendoza has a deep personal understanding of the community she is running to represent. She is committed to lowering grocery prices, making housing more affordable, expanding access to affordable health care, supporting our veterans, securing our water, and promoting economic development in rural communities. Her campaign is focused on the core values that have shaped her life: service, community, and justice. She is a fearless pro-choice champion committed to restoring our rights and fighting back, and now, she is bringing her unique personal and professional experience to the fight in a new way by stepping up to run for Congress.

Protect Arizona from Extremism 

JoAnna Mendoza is running to flip Arizona’s 6th Congressional District currently represented by anti-abortion extremist Juan Ciscomani. Ciscomani — who Trump rewarded with an early endorsement for this seat that will be pivotal in the fight for the House majority. He is out of step with Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, from his leading role in the far-right Patriot Academy and the Christian nationalist movement, to his dangerous anti-abortion record, and loyalty to MAGA at all cost. The Cook Political Report has already rated this race a “toss-up” and Mendoza is just getting started. There has never been a woman Marine veteran elected to Congress, and she has what it takes to be the first and become one of the first Latinas elected to Congress from Arizona. Mendoza stood on the frontlines for our country, and now she’s ready to stand up for Southern Arizona. Arizona’s 6th Congressional District deserves better, and EMILYs List is thrilled to support her in this election and take back the House.