Two Democrats have announced their intention to challenge Republican U.S. Representative David Schweikert (AZ 1) in the 2024 election. Andrei Cherny and Kurt Kroemer announced their candidacy within the past couple of weeks.

Cherny’s website states he is the grandson of four Holocaust survivors and son of refugees from communism. He grew up in a family struggling to make ends meet. He worked his way through public education he went on to work in the White House.

After 9/11 Cherny enlisted to serve as a U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer. He also served as an assistant attorney general for Arizona.

“I’m proud to have served in uniform, taken on financial fraudsters and drug smugglers as an Arizona Assistant Attorney General, and started a sustainability-focused company that created good-paying jobs for thousands of people. But what I’m most proud of is being Ben and Belle’s dad,” Cherny said in the statement announcing his candidacy. “And because of them, I refuse to stand on the sidelines while their future is at stake. I’ve called this community home for twenty years. And I can’t just watch as my congressman puts the interests of corporate donors ahead of our kids.”

Kroemer, a non-profit executive who recently retired as CEO of the Red Cross in Arizona, has also announced his campaign for Congress in Arizona’s First Congressional District.

As a leader of some of America’s most impactful organizations, like the Red Cross and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kroemer said he has seen first-hand some of the country’s biggest challenges.

In a statement announcing his candidacy to challenge Congressman David Schweikert, Kroemer said, “Arizonans are fed up with the culture of corruption in Washington – and it starts with David Schweikert. Voters know that career politicians like Schweikert are only looking out for their own bottom line.

“I’ve helped to lead some of America’s most impactful organizations, guiding crisis responses to natural disasters or helping sick children and their families through their most trying times.

“Arizona needs a CEO with a conscience, and I look forward to bringing my common-sense solutions to Congress: banning corporate PAC’s so money doesn’t run our government, fighting to expand access to affordable healthcare, and protecting the right to abortion from dangerous ideologues like David Schweikert.”

According to Kroemer’s statement, he is a mission-driven executive with a track record of results. He has served as CEO of the Red Cross in Arizona, as COO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and in a variety of other executive roles over the past 25 years.

A Republican, Schweikert is a Fountain Hills resident who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2010.