The Arizona congressional primary was very close, with Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat, beating Raquel Terán, a Republican, by just 39 votes. This result was confirmed by a review, making Ansari the clear Democratic candidate for Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District.
Initial primary results showed Ansari ahead by less than 0.5% of the vote, which led to the redo. The new election results show that Ansari got 19,087 votes, while Terán got 19,048. Ansari announced her win on social media, while Terán praised her opponent. This points to the general election, where Ansari will face Republican Jeff Zink.
Notably, the Protect Progress PAC, which has ties to crypto interests, backed Ansari’s bid. The PAC spent more than $1.3 million on ads to make Ansari more well-known. Some people didn’t like this backing; for example, California Representative Linda Sánchez said the PAC was trying to “buy a seat in Congress.”
Looking ahead, Fairshake, the group that is supporting Ansari, is now focused on the general election in November. They have pledged a lot of money to help candidates all over the country, including a big push to run against Senator Sherrod Brown in Ohio. This is a turning point because crypto-related problems and politicians are becoming more and more important in US politics.