2026 Election: Arizona Congressional District 5 Democratic candidates debate
PHOENIX - The three candidates in the Democratic Party primary for Arizona's 5th Congressional District will take part in a debate on June 4.
Here's what to know.
Who's organizing the debate?
Per their website, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission is the official debate sponsor.
What parts of Arizona does the 5th Congressional District cover?
According to the U.S. House of Representatives website, Arizona's 5th Congressional District covers parts of the East Valley, including parts of Apache Junction, Chandler, Gilbert, Queen Creek, and San Tan Valley.
Big picture view:
The incumbent lawmaker representing the district is Republican Andy Biggs.
The listing of candidates on the Arizona Secretary of State's website does not show Biggs as a candidate for his current seat. Biggs is, however, one of four GOP candidates for governor.
Who will take part in this debate?
The three candidates who will take part in this debate are Brian Hualde, Chris James, and Elizabeth Lee.
Dig deeper:
The three candidates all came from different backgrounds, but none of them state they have prior experience in government.
On his website, Hualde claims he is a fourth-generation Arizonan who served in the military, while James mentioned his experience in running small business. Lee's website, meanwhile, talked about her growing up in poverty as a child, as well as her career in nursing.
What are the candidates running on?
The three candidates' positions on issues include some common themes, like education, health care, and protecting democracy.
Hualde
On his issues page, Hualde says he supports strong border enforcement, but also supports reallocating resources towards case processing, legal assistance, and community awareness as a way to offer "dignity and direction to those who genuinely want to contribute to this country."
Hualde also says he supports early education, more parental involvement in education, and adequately funding public schools.
James
James listed a number of policy priorities on his campaign website, including increased investment in K-12 education, promoting trade schools and apprenticeships, modernizing Medicare, and strengthening local access to health care by boosting federal grants for critical-access hospitals, community clinics and mobile units.
James also mentioned bipartisanship on his website, stating he will work across the aisle on issues, and "lead with civility and integrity."
Lee
Lee's website states that she will fight for Medicare for All, as well as expanding Medicare to include mental health, dental, vision, and hearing coverage.
According to a 2019 article by the Associated Press, Medicare for All is a plan advocated by some lawmakers, like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, that would replace job-based and individual private health insurance with a government-run plan that guarantees coverage for all with no premiums, deductibles and only minimal copays for certain services.
Other positions advocated by Lee include measures aimed at making housing more affordable, protect Arizona's water allocation from the Colorado River, and securing the border while creating a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.
What about the Republican debate?
The Republican Party is holding a contested primary for the same race. Per the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, Mark Lamb and Daniel Keenan are in the race.
However, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission website shows that Lamb is not taking part in the debate, but Keenan will.
Dig deeper:
The commission has been known to do a one-on-one interview with the candidate who did appear for the debate. In this election cycle, a one-on-one interview was done with Kai Newkirk, who is running against Greg Stanton in the Democratic Congressional District 4 primary.
When are the primaries?
Primary elections will happen statewide on July 21, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
The Source: Information for this article was gathered from the campaign websites for Brian Hualde, Chris James, and Elizabeth Lee, with supplemental information gathered from the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, and the Associated Press.