Democrat Andrei Cherny to challenge Rep. David Schweikert

Businessperson Andrei Cherny announced Thursday he is running for Congress in Arizona's 1st Congressional District.

Cherny, 47, is joining what is shaping up to be a crowded Democratic primary to take on Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz. Political handicappers believe it could become Arizona's closest 2024 general election race for Congress.

Cherny previously worked as CEO of Aspiration, a sustainability-focused financial services company that serves as an alternative to big banks.

The biggest challenge facing the 1st Congressional District is the economy, Cherny said.

"Families are concerned about the future of their children and grandchildren while struggling to afford their prescription drugs, their rent or mortgage, and getting sticker shock at the price of a carton of eggs," he told The Arizona Republic in an interview.

Democracy and the environment are also an important part of Cherny's platform.

All four of his grandparents were Holocaust survivors. He was born in California shortly after his parents fled communism in Czechoslovakia. He co-founded the public policy journal Democracy, where he worked with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to launch the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Cherny has spent 25 years addressing the issue of climate change and believes that tackling global climate change is financially and environmentally beneficial to Arizona.

"For Arizona, climate change is a clear and present danger given drought and rising temperatures. At the same time, making Arizona 'the Solar State' could create so many high-paying jobs. My company (Aspiration) planted over 100 million trees around the world, including some here in Phoenix, while helping millions move their bank deposits out of being used to fund oil and gas pipelines and drilling," he said.

When it comes to public service, Cherny served as an officer in the Navy Reserve and was assistant attorney general under Terry Goddard from 2006 to 2009. A former chair of the Arizona Democratic Party, Cherny previously ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. He was unsuccessful in the Democratic primary against now-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz.

He has the distinction of being the youngest White House speechwriter in history. He was hired by President Bill Clinton's administration at age 21.

Cherny joins a group of other Democratic hopefuls in the primary for the 1st Congressional District.

State Rep. Amish Shah, an emergency room and sports medicine doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, announced earlier this week that he is running. Scottsdale orthodontist Andrew Horne also is trying for the nomination.

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More people could get into the race.

Delina DiSanto, who ran against Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., in 2020 and now lives in the 1st Congressional District after redistricting, is contemplating a run. Former TV journalist Marlene Galan Woods earlier this year expressed to 12 News an interest in running for Schweikert's seat. It is also possible that Hiral Tipirneni, a former emergency room doctor who ran against Schweikert in 2020, may join the race.

The 1st District is one of Arizona's most financially well-off areas and includes Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills and sections of Phoenix.

It has grown more Democratic in recent years, with Democrat Jevin Hodge losing last year to Schweikert in a close race. Hodge tweeted on March 31 that he is not running for office again this election cycle.

Out of Arizona's nine congressional districts, the 1st Congressional District is poised to become the closest race in November 2024.

The U.S. House of Representatives, which is composed of 435 members, is a body that operates on seniority, and Schweikert is a senior member of the influential Ways and Means Committee.

When asked why his district's voters should give up that power for a freshman member of Congress, Cherny responded: "Unfortunately, David Schweikert has been using his influence in ways that have been harmful to our community whether it is opposing bipartisan legislation to create jobs like the CHIPS Act, running up our debt, or trying to ban abortion with no exceptions."

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Democrat Andrei Cherny to challenge Republican Rep. David Schweikert