PHOENIX (AP) — Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani won reelection to a U.S. House seat in southeastern Arizona in a rematch that pitted him against the Democrat he narrowly beat two years ago.

Ciscomani defeated Democrat Kirsten Engel in the race for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, which runs from Tucson east to the New Mexico state line and includes a stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border.

With Ciscomani’s win, Republicans have enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump.

“Now, it is time to get to work,” Ciscomani said in a statement Wednesday after Engel called him to concede, but before The Associated Press declared a winner.

“Our country is facing big challenges and I am ready to continue tackling these issues head-on,” he said. “Our top priorities — securing our border, lowering costs, and ensuring that our veterans and seniors are protected and valued – are essential to the strength and stability of our district and country.”

Engel wrote on the social platform X, “The voters have made their decision and we must respect it – I will not be the next Representative for Arizona’s 6th Congressional District. While we came up short, I couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve put in.”

Kirsten Engel, Democratic candidate in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, mingles with supporters during a watch party in Tucson, Ariz., Nov. 8, 2022. (Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP, File)

Ciscomani was an aide to former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey. He immigrated from Mexico as a child and calls border enforcement his top priority but has distanced himself from Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Engel, a law professor at the University of Arizona and a former state legislator, has pointed out Ciscomani rejected a major bipartisan border bill i n February that would have overhauled the asylum system and given the president new powers to expel migrants when asylum claims become overwhelming.

Voter registration in the district is closely divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents, although the GOP has a slight advantage.

Ciscomani won his first term in 2022 when he beat Engel by over 5,200 votes.

With Ciscomani’s win this election, the state’s House delegation is unchanged with six Republicans and three Democrats.

A factor in the very close results in this year’s race is a Green Party candidate. Athena Eastwood made it onto the ballot by winning 26 write-in votes from Green Party voters in the July 30 primary election. She had collected 8,688 votes as of Sunday evening. Eastwood did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.

Public records show that Eastwood changed the name on her voter registration on Sept. 17. She changed her name before that, too, according to court records. She also changed her party affiliation on her voter registration on June 30, three days before early voting began. Before then, she was sometimes registered as an independent voter and sometimes as a Democrat.

More on this race

Ciscomani vs. Engel is a rematch from 2022, when Ciscomani won with 50.7% of the votes. 

The area went through redistricting after the 2020 Census and had a history of close races before that, with Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Ron Barber. 

And before that, this was the area represented by Gabby Giffords before she was shot in a mass shooting at a constituent event in Tucson and then stepped down in 2012.

“I hope this is a great election that everybody feels happy with the results,” Eastwood posted on X on Nov. 5. She subsequently reposted a post from Elon Musk and a post in which J.D. Vance says the incoming administration will purge intelligence agents who helped censor information about previous elections.

Includes reporting by Arizona Luminaria