A crowded field of Democratic primary hopefuls are hoping to take on incumbent Republican Rep. David Schweikert in Arizona's 1st Congressional District.
Schweikert, R-Ariz., 61, is a former state legislator and Maricopa County treasurer who was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. He is now serving his seventh term in Congress, where he sits on the House Ways and Means Committee.
The district is among Arizona's wealthiest and includes Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills and sections of north Phoenix. It is likely to be the state's most competitive district in 2024, as it was during the 2022 midterm elections when Schweikert narrowly defeated Democratic challenger Jevin Hodge.
While the area leans Republican, newcomers to the district are changing its political composition. The district is expected to become bluer in the future and some experts say that change is happening faster than anticipated.
Democrats see an opportunity to flip the seat. Here are the candidates who hope to be the party's nominee.
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Andrei Cherny
Andrei Cherny is the former CEO of Aspiration, an environmentally friendly financial services company.
He called the economy the biggest issue facing his district. Climate change is another issue that is important to Cherny, as he has spent 25 years of his career working on that issue. So is democracy, Cherny said, because he is the grandchild of four Holocaust survivors and the son of parents who escaped Communism in Czechoslovakia.
Cherny was a former assistant attorney general under Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party. At the age of 21, he became the youngest White House speechwriter in history for the Clinton administration.
Conor O'Callaghan
Conor O'Callaghan lives in the DC Ranch area of Scottsdale. He immigrated to the U.S. when he was four years old and graduated from Chaparral High School, where he was a state champion runner.
O'Callaghan works in finance as a managing director at BTIG.
This is his first run for public office. O'Callaghan told The Arizona Republic that a sense of service was instilled in him by his father, who worked as a doctor at the Mayo Clinic and who held a public post during Democratic Gov. Rose Mofford's administration.
Andrew Horne
Andrew Horne is a Phoenix-area native and orthodontist. His major issues include the economy, education, women’s rights and health care. Horne said he believes the economy and education are inextricably linked, citing how Arizona has become a hub for manufacturing in part because of Arizona State University graduates. He also believes a booming economy requires people without college degrees to be trained for needed skills, such as electricians and plumbers.
Horne said that what separates him from the rest of the candidates is that he is originally from the area and is not a politician. He believes that people in public office should be accessible, and encourages voters to reach out to him at Horne@HorneForArizona.com.
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Kurt Kroemer
Kurt Kroemer is a former nonprofit executive who has been CEO of American Red Cross Arizona-New Mexico region and COO of Make-A-Wish Arizona and Humanity United, an organization that works to end genocide and human trafficking.
Kroemer said he believes that the biggest issue facing the district, as well as this country, is partisan division.
For 11 years, Kroemer was a congressional investigator holding a top secret clearance for what is now the Government Accountability Office.
Amish Shah
State Rep. Amish Shah is an emergency room and sports medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix,
Shah, who has been in the Arizona Legislature for four years, touts his experience and policy expertise, particularly in health care.
As a doctor, health care is Shah’s primary issue. He advocates for universal healthcare. He wants to be in Congress because he wants to have a greater impact and because of the role the federal government plays in shaping health care policy.
Marlene Galán-Woods
Marlene Galán-Woods is a former television journalist and the widow of former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods.
Galán-Woods said the biggest issue facing her district is the “assault” on freedom, such as the infringement on voting rights, reproductive rights, and the right to live free from gun violence.
She said that voters should choose her over other candidates because of her electability. Galán-Woods believes that she is most electable because she held the powerful accountable in her job as a journalist; she is not a career politician; and being in Congress is her highest ambition.
