Democrat Kirsten Engel doesn't appear at congressional forum; campaign says she never confirmed

A forum for two candidates running for the House in southern Arizona’s competitive 6th Congressional District became a platform for just one contender Thursday.

Democratic candidate Kirsten Engel did not appear at the forum, leaving her Republican opponent Juan Ciscomani as the only candidate to take part.

Engel’s campaign said Friday they were not given details recently about the event and had not confirmed she could participate.

The forum was hosted by the editor of the Casa Grande Dispatch and Pinal Central, who addressed the empty seat at the start of the forum.

“We had planned to have two candidates here. So far, we only have the Republican candidate Juan Ciscomani. We have not been joined by Kristen Engel,” editor and co-publisher Donovan Kramer said.

Ciscomani, a longtime aide to Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, subsequently got an open platform to explain his views on issues such as inflation, the border and energy.

Debate attendance has been a point of contention in Arizona and elsewhere this election cycle. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Katie Hobbs has declined to debate her Republican rival Kari Lake, who has been making an issue of Hobbs' refusal in the Arizona governor's race.

Ciscomani posted two photos from the forum on Twitter Thursday and called attention to Engel’s absence.

“Honored to participate in the Casa Grande Dispatch forum in Pinal County. My opponent confirmed & never showed up. #AZ06 residents deserve a representative who shows up, respects them & does the work. I’m from this district, for this district & will always show up for you,” Ciscomani tweeted.

But Engel’s campaign told The Arizona Republic that they never said she’d attend.

“The Engel for Congress campaign didn't confirm we would be able to participate in this event. After receiving initial outreach from the Casa Grande Dispatch almost eight weeks ago, Kirsten’s calendar was still up in the air, and we were not provided with any further details from the group leading up to the event,” the campaign said in a written statement.

Kramer, the host, said Engel did confirm several weeks ago but the invitation to the forum came from someone else, so if her campaign asked for more details, they may not have answered. He said he expected both candidates to participate Thursday.

Ciscomani's campaign said Engel's absence was "an indication of the disrespect and arrogance she would show to her constituents if elected" and called her attitude "elitist and entitled."

Engel resigned from the state Senate in September 2021 to pursue the congressional seat. She’s a professor at the University of Arizona law school.

Competitive race for open seat

The race is considered competitive, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report as of Wednesday describing it as leaning Republican, meaning the seat could flip. Incumbent Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., is retiring. New congressional boundaries shifted what was formerly the 2nd Congressional District. The new district includes the state’s southeastern border, stretching north almost as far as Alpine and as far west as eastern Tucson.

It’s Arizona’s only congressional race for an open seat.

In addition to Ciscomani’s social media post, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the arm of the GOP that tries to elect Republicans to the House, and the Arizona Republican Party highlighted on Twitter what they called Engel’s “no show” at the forum.

Engel plans to participate in an Oct. 4 debate held by Arizona Public Media, but her campaign said Ciscomani had not yet confirmed whether he’d attend. Ciscomani's campaign said they do not have an invitation for Oct. 4, but plan to be at an Oct. 12 debate hosted by the Sierra Vista Chamber of Commerce and the Sierra Vista Herald.

“Kirsten hopes he will join her on the debate stage to discuss important issues facing Arizona families,” Engel’s campaign said of the Oct. 4 debate.

Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona congressional candidate Kirsten Engel misses forum