2 prominent Democrats join 2024 race for Ruben Gallego’s seat in Congress
Apr 5, 2023, 11:35 AM | Updated: 1:23 pm
From left, Yassamin Ansari and Raquel Terán (Facebook Photos)
(Facebook Photos)
PHOENIX – The 2024 race to succeed Rep. Ruben Gallego in Congress is heating up, with two prominent Democrats entering the fray this week.
Phoenix City Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari announced her District 3 candidacy Tuesday, and state Sen. Raquel Terán followed suit Wednesday.
Ansari is in her first term on the council after being elected in 2021 and is Phoenix’s vice mayor this year. Before running for office she was a United Nations climate policy adviser.
“We deserve a representative who will act boldly and fearlessly to enact real change for our community,” she said in her campaign launch video.
Democracy is under attack, it's getting harder to make ends meet, and Arizona is on the frontline of the climate crisis.
I'm running for Congress because #AZ03 deserves a leader who understands the urgency of the moment and gets things done.
Join us → https://t.co/AH45NjgqVQ pic.twitter.com/OqWPoLsfPR
— Yassamin Ansari (@yassaminansari) April 4, 2023
Terán has served in both chambers of the Legislature and formerly chaired the Arizona Democratic Party.
“I’m running for Congress because there is no challenge too big we can’t solve by organizing and working together,” she said in her announcement video.
It's official: I'm running to represent Arizona's 3rd District in Congress!
For over 20 years, I've been fighting to make it easier to get ahead and provide for our families. I've taken on bullies like Joe Arpaio, Donald Trump, and Kari Lake — and won. pic.twitter.com/cMusvoHzmV
— Raquel Terán #BlackLivesMatter (@RaquelTeran) April 5, 2023
Gallego’s seat is in the state’s safest Democratic district, so the primary winner will most likely go on to win the general election. District 3 includes downtown, south and west Phoenix.
On the Republican side, Jeff Zink is running again after losing to Gallego by over 50 percentage points in last year’s general election.
Gallego, who has been in the House since 2015, is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kyrsten Sinema, the former Democrat who became an independent late last year.
When asked Wednesday about the race to succeed him, Gallego said he was focused on his own 2024 campaign.
“I’m sure we’re going to have some great representation there, and right now we’re not getting involved in that race,” he said.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Luke Forstner contributed to this report.
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