In the 2020 presidential election, Arizona was one of multiple states involved in Trump’s fake electors plot to steal the win from Joe Biden, and even now, Arizona is still caught up in the election’s aftermath. Just two months ago, the FBI seized “digital data related to a partisan audit of the county’s vote” from the Arizona Senate building. With all this as a backdrop, Arizona is set up to be a key player in this year’s general elections.
But this candidate for Arizona’s first congressional district, Marlene Galán-Woods, remains hopeful that change can be made. In a conversation with Tim Dickinson, she explains how she is the right candidate for the moment, what she learned after her 2024 run for the same seat, and how Democrats will save the world.
Marlene Galán-Woods is running to represent Arizona’s first Congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a former broadcast journalist and founded the Mesa Arts Academy within the Boys & Girls Clubs of the East Valley.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting purposes.
Tim Dickinson
I’m Tim Dickinson, a senior editor here at The Contrarian, and my guest is a candidate for the primary in Arizona District 1. It’s Marlene Galán-Woods. Marlene, tell us about yourself.
Marlene Galán-Woods
Thanks for having me on, appreciate it very much. Well I am a first-generation Cuban-American. My parents came to this country in the 60s, fleeing Castro’s communism and the dictatorship. My mother was just 18 years old, two days before the Bay of Pigs, when she arrived. I grew up in Brooklyn, New York. Spanish was my first language. My parents worked incredibly hard, multiple jobs, to put food on the table and keep a roof over our heads. And I worked from the time I was 12 years old.
I waited on tables to pay for college. I moved to Arizona in 1988 to continue my career as a broadcast journalist and investigative reporter. This is where I met my husband, Grant Woods, on a blind date. We raised 5 kids here. Our youngest we adopted from Guatemala. She’s 22 years old, a student at the UofA. And, that’s a little bit about me, and .
Tim Dickinson
That’s fantastic. Well, tell us, for a national audience, sometimes we don’t know what makes a district special. Tell us about Arizona’s First, and why it’s special to you.
Marlene Galán-Woods
Well, it is a wonderful place to live. I’ve lived here almost 40 years in this area, and the sunsets are amazing. They will rival any sunset around the country, and beautiful mountains. This is a district of Hardworking people, independent businesses. We have restaurants that are amazing, from the mom-and-pop taco shop, to the designer burger, or… And just, just really hard, hard-working people with just a wonderful, diverse group of folks. And then as far as the district is concerned, this is probably the most competitive district in the country, and, and one that we need to win.
We now have an open seat. It’s a toss-up seat, and one that we can wrangle from Republicans once and for all.
Tim Dickinson
And so, what makes you the best person to conquer this seat? Why do you think that you’re the—I mean, and the party agrees, the DCCC gave you their endorsement in this primary, and so what do you think makes you the right person for this job?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Look, at the end of the day, I am a fighter. As a journalist, as an investigative reporter, the work that I did was to investigate consumer fraud, to stick up for the regular guy against the establishment, whether it was the mechanic who screwed over an elderly lady with her tires. That’s what I did as a journalist. It’s what I will do in Congress. I’ve lived here, like I said, my whole life. I understand this district. I know it well, I know the people here well.
And we need fearless leaders at this moment in time. To win a seat, because we must win to legislate, and then once we get to Washington, D.C, someone who’s gonna wake up every morning thinking about the regular person out there. This is where I came from. My parents, worked very hard, and… and look, my parents came to this country seeking the American dream, and they found it. And what I worry about is that in one generation, we are watching the American dream slip through our fingers.
And so this fight is very personal to me on many levels. It’s making sure that that American dream is around for generations to come. And it’s very personal to me with my daughter, who I told you about. She’s a Guatemalan-born young woman who is less safe today now than she was a year and four months ago. She has to carry a copy of her passport and her bag down at the UofA because apparently it’s okay to racially profile people in this country, so I’m a fighter, I’m gonna fight, For working families.
Tim Dickinson
As I understand it, you’re the only woman in the primary race. Can you talk a bit—I know that reproductive rights are a passion for you. Can you talk about how you intend to fight for that in Congress?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Yes, absolutely. In fact, I was the first congressional challenger in the country endorsed by Emily’s List. They know that I’m gonna die on the hill of making sure that every girl, every girl and woman in this country, regardless of zip code, has power over her own body. And that is something that I’m gonna work on, that we’re going to make sure that happens at a federal level, so that, like I said, every girl and woman, regardless of where she lives.
Tim Dickinson
You ran for the seat a couple years ago and didn’t advance to the general election. What did you learn from that experience?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Well, it was quite the experience, I will tell you that. The first thing I’ll tell you about that experience is this, which I think is worthy of noting. I… we had a very crowded primary, as you may remember. Six people running. Yes, and I was the only woman then, as I am now. I was the only one Republicans spent against. In that primary. Tens of thousands of dollars, to try to bounce me off the ballot. They put up illegal television ads that were paid for by a Republican super PAC. Why? Well… there was polling that showed that I beat David Schweikert (R) by 7 points with independents. Independents are crucial in this district to appeal to them to win this seat. So they… Republicans were okay with anybody else getting out of that primary, and I was the only one they came after.
Tim Dickinson
Are we seeing that again this time?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Oh, it’s a, you know… This naming has already begun, as you may suspect, which is fine, I will take it as a compliment and a badge of honor. I’m ready to take them on. What I learned… I have just… I have fallen in love even more with the people here, and as I go around the district, and I launched my race a lot earlier this time around. I’ve been running now for 14, 15 months, and it has given me a real opportunity to lap the district with what we started calling neighborhood town halls.
David Schweikert has not had a town hall since the dinosaurs, and and people… people in this district were craving, craving a place of community. Of… of a place to vent. And I would go. We started off with 10 people, then 15, then somebody would hold another one, all over the district, and I answer questions until people run out, and it has been a really great way to understand where people are in this district, what they’re worried about, what their dreams are, their hopes are. And it’s been a really wonderful experience so far.
Tim Dickinson
What other issues would you highlight specifically as things that you want to work on in Congress?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Well, look, you know, it’s no secret that it is the economy, and we have got— nothing matters if people can’t put food on the table. Nothing matters if people are worried that a bad, a very expensive healthcare bill will bankrupt them. There’s so much that we have to fix. I’ll tell you something, Tim. One of the things I have learned from raising 5 children. is that it’s a whole lot easier to break things than it is to put them back together again.
And, we are going to be in the business of putting it back together again, come the next Congress. But I believe that we have an opportunity to make things better, and to build something better from the rubble that Republicans are leading us. And that is first of all, let’s save Medicaid and expand it. Let’s make sure that we bring back the subsidies to the premiums to the ACA and improve the ACA. Let’s do our due diligence in Congress and And, wrangle in these tariffs that have been this retribution playbook that Trump has done. There’s so much we can do, and we can prove to the American people that Democrats are the grown-ups in the room, thinking about them every day.
Tim Dickinson
Do I have it right that at some point in the past you were a Republican? And I was wondering if you could talk about what your awakening was that brought you to the Democratic Party. And then on top of that, like, for people who might have some, you know, lingering… what was that about? Like, how do you talk to people who are Democrats, have always been Democrats, about that conversion?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Well, you might imagine I get that question quite often, and and it’s okay. Look, here’s what I’ll say. I grew up in a Republican household. When my parents arrived from Cuba to the United States, the Republican Party spoke to them for freedom and opportunity. And then I, I arrived here in Phoenix. My husband was a Republican. He was a John McCain Republican.
And, and actually, before he passed away, he became a Democrat. The last straw for me was Donald Trump. I mean, the outrageous place that he has taken the Republican Party, I saw it… I saw it coming. And, I couldn’t be part of that.
This is not a Republican Party, this is a dictator wannabe who has driven the whole thing off a cliff. What I will tell you is that I may be a former Republican. But I am a damn proud Democrat. I am a proud Democrat, because Democrats are gonna save this country, Democrats are tasked with improving healthcare, and I don’t know, we believe in science, that’s kind of nice, and democracy, and saving voting rights, and and all the things, so I am a proud Democrat.
Tim Dickinson
Well, Marlene, I’m conscious of our time, I don’t want to take up too much of yours, but are there some closing thoughts you want to make sure our viewers come away with about your candidacy?
Marlene Galán-Woods
Tim, I’ll tell you this, I am not a career politician. This wasn’t on my bingo card. But it must be done. I am right for the district. I will wake up every morning thinking about our working families. It’s where I come from. And I’ll tell you something, this might be a crazy thing to say, in light of, you know, the… just the daily events that we’re surrounded by, but I am optimistic. I am optimistic.
I refuse to give in to cynicism, and I am optimistic that I can get to Washington, D.C. and work with anyone. Republican, Independent, or Democrat, on one issue that moves Americans forward and upward.
Tim Dickinson
Well, thank you so much for your time, it’s been a pleasure meeting you.
Marlene Galán-Woods
It is my pleasure. Thank you, have a wonderful day.
