Three Democrats debate how to flip Arizona’s deep red 5th Congressional District

The three Democrats running for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District clashed Thursday over who is best equipped to flip a deep-red East Valley seat, arguing qualifications and whether the moment calls for moderation or structural change.

The debate, sponsored by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, followed a solo interview with Republican Daniel Keenan after his opponent, former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, refused to participate.

The seat is open after U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs announced he would leave to run for governor. A Democrat has not held the district, which covers parts of east metro Phoenix, Pinal County, Apache Junction and San Tan Valley, in 15 years.

All three Democratic candidates, Brian Hualde, Chris James and Elizabeth Lee, agreed that rising grocery prices, healthcare costs and housing affordability are driving voter frustration across party lines. They diverged on what kind of candidate can channel that frustration into a win.

Chris James: This is not a time for ‘on-the-job training’

“This is not a time for someone to have learning-on-the-job experience,” said James, a former senior executive at both the Treasury Department and the Small Business Administration who has held presidential appointments under Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

He added that Democrats can’t win as a one-topic candidate.

He is running on federal investment in infrastructure, public schools and water security, positioning himself as a dealmaker who already knows how to move money and policy through the D.C. bureaucracy.

Elizabeth Lee thinks a progressive has a chance to flip this Republican safe seat

Lee, a board-certified nurse and patient advocate, framed her candidacy around systems-level problem solving, pointing to her role organizing community opposition that pressured Chandler’s city council to reject a data center.

She laid out the needed math for a Democrat to win in a district that hasn’t elected one since 2011: 90% Democratic turnout, 60% of independents and peeling off 10% of Republicans.

“When we lead with values, when we lead with, ‘Tell me what keeps you up at night’ … that is how you’re going to win what is considered a heavily Republican district,” Lee said.

Lee advocates for Medicare for All, capping insulin costs and ending Citizens United. She is the only Democratic CD5 candidate explicitly calling for single-payer healthcare and stronger gun regulation.

Brian Hualde says frustration is an opportunity

Hualde, a fourth-generation Arizonan, Army combat medic and nurse practitioner, positioned himself as the candidate closest to the district’s everyday struggles.

The only Arizona native on the stage, he referenced growing up through the state’s droughts and raising two disabled children while navigating the healthcare system.

An east Mesa father of six, he leans into border security and local control of schools and frames his pro-choice stance through his Christian faith.

“When I hear the responses from people in the community saying that they’ve had enough and they don’t recognize their own party, it gives me more confidence,” Hualde said.

Candidates agree on water and data centers

On water, all three called for greater accountability from data center developers, though they differed on approach.

James said he would fight for full funding of Colorado River drought planning through the House Natural Resources Committee.

Lee called for a public study of the health and environmental impacts of data centers before granting further approvals.

Hualde said companies seeking to use Arizona’s water should bear the cost of studying the long-term effects on communities.

Asked for their day-one priority, Hualde said affordability, James said “economy, economy, economy,” and Lee said stopping executive overreach.

All three Democrats agree on increasing funding for public education, housing affordability and immigration reform.

The Republican and Democratic primaries are July 21.

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