Arizona Democrat Marlene Galán-Woods running for Congress again in 2026

PHOENIX – Arizona Democrat Marlene Galán-Woods, who finished third in the 2024 primary election, is running for Congress again.

Galán-Woods announced Tuesday she is taking a second shot at the 1st Congressional District seat held by eight-term Republican Rep. David Schweikert.

“As a journalist committed to the truth, as a mom, grandmother and a proud American, I cannot sit by and watch the dismantling of our country,” she said in a new campaign video. “I cannot watch as this administration makes us more unsafe here at home and abroad.”

Galán-Woods is a former Valley television journalist and was married to former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods until his death in 2021. Woods served as a Republican but switched parties after President Donald Trump took office for the first time in 2017.

Marlene Galán-Woods enters 2026 race with big endorsements

Although she finished third in the Democratic primary behind nominee Amish Shah and Andrei Cherny in her first run for office, Galán-Woods enters the 2026 race with the endorsement of two party heavyweights: current Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and former Gov. Janet Napolitano.

“At a time where there’s so much on the line, we need fighters in Congress, and Marlene has the integrity and grit to protect our freedoms. She is the only candidate who can unseat Schweikert and help flip the House blue,” Mayes said in a press release.

Napolitano also promoted Galán-Woods as the only Democrat who can defeat Schweikert in a district that includes northeast Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, Carefree and Fountain Hills.

“I know what it takes to win and govern in Arizona, and Marlene is the only candidate who can flip this seat to get the real work done in Congress,” said Napolitano, the only Democrat to serve as Arizona’s governor other than Katie Hobbs since 1991.

As of Tuesday morning, Brian Del Vecchio and Brandon Donnelly were the only Democrats to submit statements of interest for CD1 primary to the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.

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