Friends, meet JoAnna Mendoza, our terrific candidate running for the US House in the Sixth District of Arizona, one of our top pickup opportunities next year. We talked yesterday and I am excited to share our conversation with you today.
JoAnna is part of our new “Winning The House” campaign that’s rallying our community around the House candidates in competitive Republican held seats that we need to win to flip the House next year. Yesterday we endorsed four candidates:
Jo Mendoza AZ-06
Christina Bohannan IA-01
Paige Cognetti PA-08
Janelle Stelson PA-10
We will be adding more to the list as candidates jump in, primaries are held, and the 2026 landscape become more clear.
When donating to this new campaign your contribution will be split evenly among our initial four candidates, and you can also support JoAnna directly by clicking here. To learn more or volunteer for her campaign head to the Mendoza for Congress campaign website.
In our discussion here’s what JoAnna (or Jo) had to say about AZ-06, where she was born and raised (and where Gabby Giffords once served):
“The district, we have a swing electorate, a very large swing electorate here and it has been represented by both Democrats and Republicans. And it has about 80,000 veterans and a couple of military bases… it also has about 25% Hispanic population. So it is a combination of suburban, maybe be a tiny bit or urban, and then a lot of rural and small towns.”
“We took a look at veterans who ran statewide, like Senator Kelly and Senator Gallego, and even our Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who’s a Marine veteran, and they all overperformed in this district. So we firmly believe that because it is an extremely competitive district that has a soft, or sweet spot for veterans, and that my profile would resonate with a lot of people. Plus I was born and raised here in a rural community… I’m a part of this district.”
Here’s the 2024 vote in Arizona 6:
Here’s a map of Arizona 6:
Here’s the intro to Jo’s bio from her campaign website:
JoAnna Mendoza, or “Jo” as she is known to friends and family, embodies the spirit of Arizona Tough. Raised in a farmworker family in Pinal County, JoAnna experienced firsthand the realities of rural poverty and the power of community. Those early lessons set her on a lifelong path of service and action.
At just 17, Jo answered the call to serve, enlisting in the U.S. Navy before joining the U.S. Marine Corps. Her 20-year military career was defined by leadership, sacrifice, and service, marked by her role as a Marine Corps Drill Instructor, deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and leading the next generation of Marines. Jo stood on the frontlines for our country; now she’s ready to stand up for Southern Arizona.
In this video below Jo reflects on her career in the Marines and makes very clear why she is running - to provide greater opportunity, tackle affordability, fight corporate greed, empower women, and “lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way."
As veteran Hopium folks know Arizona is an important state for us. We were the largest fundraiser for Senator Ruben Gallego in the country in 2024, raising him more than $700,000 for his spirited and victorious campaign. We also played hard in this district and in AZ-01, bringing the total amount we raised for Arizona candidates to over $1m last cycle. The only other state where we invested more money last cycle was in North Carolina.
So meet Jo, learn more (and support!) about our new Winning The House campaign, and keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save and a Congress to flip! - Simon
