The recount has been concluded and former Phoenix Vice Mayor and Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari has prevailed in the Arizona Congressional House District Three Primary with a 39 vote margin over former State Legislator and Arizona Democratic Party Chairperson Raquel Teran.
In the very likely event, that she wins in the general election this November, she would succeed Democrat Ruben Gallego and make history as the first Iranian-American to win a seat in the United States House of Representatives.
In a social media post celebrating her primary victory, Ms. Ansari as the now CD Three Democratic House Nominee wrote:
“Thank you, #AZ03!
Following today’s recount results, I am deeply honored to be your Democratic nominee for Congress.
It’s time for us to come together and ensure we secure victories for Democrats up and down the ballot this November.
I want to thank Raquel Teran and Duane Wooten for running. Believe me, running for office isn’t easy – so we should all be thankful that at this defining moment in our nation’s history, there are Democratic leaders who are willing to step up to the plate. Each of them is inspired by service and ran to make our district a better place.
When we decided to get into this race, many told me – told us – that it wasn’t possible. This victory is the product of more than 165,000 doors knocked in Arizona’s extreme summer heat and the monsoon season’s pouring rain. Together, we took our positive message of progressive results directly to voters – and we won. This victory belongs to all of us. As we’ve seen firsthand, every vote matters and I’d like to thank our election officials as well for their hard work in facilitating our election.
My family’s story – like the story of so many immigrants and refugees in our district – is a story of hope. Hope in the promise of America as a land of freedom, opportunity, security, and democracy. Hope that you can build a better future for the next generation. I was raised with this hope – in our power to make change – and I’ve taken it with me through my entire career.
To the United Nations, where in the face of climate change denialism on one side and fatalism on the other, we passed the historic Paris Climate Agreement.
I brought that hope to the Phoenix City Council, where we took bold, ambitious action: protecting women and abortion providers from arrest, raising wages for thousands of workers, expanding housing and addressing homelessness, and passing Phoenix’s landmark Climate Action Plan and a historic Worker Heat Safety Ordinance to protect 10,000 outdoor workers from Phoenix’s extreme heat.
This campaign was born of that hope. Because in Arizona and America today, it’s bold to hope. We are surrounded by the politics of fear – Republicans preach a warped, dangerous, authoritarian vision for our future. And we must stand strong against it – to protect abortion rights, defend our democracy, and save our climate.
But we’ve said loud and clear that it’s not enough to just protect the status quo from Republican attacks. We’ve boldly chosen to hope for more. To hope that great progress is still possible in today’s politics. That we deserve leaders who don’t just talk; but who deliver real results for every Arizonan. I’m so excited to get to work for you. #AZ03
In less than 80 days, we’re not only going to win this seat, we’re going to elect
@RubenGallego as our next Senator,
@KamalaHarris as our next President and
@Tim_Walz as our next VP, and make access to an abortion a constitutional right in Arizona. Today, I pledge to put my entire campaign apparatus behind these efforts to increase Democratic turnout in our district to ensure victory in November.
And we’ll restore hope – that our Democracy is capable of tackling our greatest challenges and advancing bold, transformational change. I am honored to be your Democratic nominee and be in this fight with you.
Later, Ms. Ansari and her team hosted a press conference at the SMART Local 357 Union Headquarters.”
Thanking her team for their hard work in canvassing, writing campaign literature, and turning out the vote, the former Phoenix Vice Mayor said “This victory belongs to all of us…who poured their hearts and souls into this campaign and I am incredibly grateful for that.”
Ms. Ansari also expressed hope of reaching out to her primary opponents and uniting to win the House seat this November.
She thanked her family for their support, repeating from her earlier statement that hers is the story:
“Of hope and the promise of America as a land of freedom, opportunity, security, and Democracy. Hope that you can build a better future for the next generation. I was raised by that hope and the power to make change and I’ve taken it with me my entire career…This campaign was born of that hope because in Arizona and the United States today, it is bold to hope. We’re surrounded by the politics of fear. Republicans are constantly preaching warped, dangerous, authoritarian visions for our future. We must stand strong against it. Protect abortion rights, defend our Democracy, and save our climate.”
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