The race gaining the attention from the crypto world and GOP donors is between former state Sen. Raquel Terán (D), Phoenix Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari and physician Duane Wooten are running to replace Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who is running for Senate, our colleague Rafael Bernal reported.
Protect Progress, a crypto-funded super PAC, has spent more than a million dollars on independent ads supporting Ansari, whose campaign has also received nearly $200,000 from GOP donors.
“It’s disgusting to watch outside millionaires and billionaires try to buy this seat. It’s really abhorrent to see this more and more – California and New York rich people thinking Latino politicians and Latino voters are just pawns in their games of power that they can just move around on a game board or spreadsheet,” said Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist.
“The whole community and the [Congressional Hispanic] Caucus has come together for Raquel, and we are gonna stand and fight to keep this seat.”
Terán is backed by Bold PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) campaign arm, and has been endorsed by Reps. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the senior statesman and highest-ranking members of the CHC, respectively.
“This is a blatant effort by an outside group to silence the voices of over half a million Latinos in a majority-Latino district in order to buy a seat in Congress. Raquel Terán has dedicated her career to championing the rights of Latinos across the state,” said Bold PAC Chair Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.).
“Instead of supporting an exceptionally qualified Latina and the only one in the race, this group has decided to work against the Latino community by pouring in over $1 million against her. This undermines the ability of Latinos to choose their own representative, and it undermines the progress Bold PAC has spent decades fighting for.”
Read more in a full report by Rafael Bernal at TheHill.com.
