Biography
Kirsten Engel is a former Arizona state representative (2016-2020), and state senator (2021-2021). She was the Democratic nominee for Arizona’s Sixth Congressional district in the 2024 election.
Engel was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1961. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Brown University. She earned her J.D. from Northwestern University’s School of Law. Her first jobs were with the Massachusetts Office of Attorney General and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has taught at Tulane University, Harvard University, and now the University of Arizona, where Engel is also co-director of the Environmental Law program.
Engel served as the Arizona House of Representatives congresswoman for Arizona’s Tenth District from 2016 to 2020. She ran and won a seat in the Arizona State Senate in the 2020 elections, but stepped down in 2021 to run for Arizona’s sixth congressional district seat. She lost in the 2022 midterm elections to Republican candidate Juan Ciscomani.
Sources:
Kirsten Engel. Ballotpedia. https://ballotpedia.org/Kirsten_Engel
Meet Kirsten. Engel for Arizona. https://www.engelforarizona.com/about (2017) House Member: Kirsten Engel. Arizona State Legislature. https://www.azleg.gov/house-member