Meet the candidates in Arizona Congressional Districts 1 and 3
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Five candidates hopped into Arizona congressional races this week, marking the start of what's expected to be a crowded, heated and oh-so-very-long campaign season.
State of play: This week was an advantageous time to kick off campaigns because it began a new federal fundraising quarter.
Driving the news: The announcements came from Democrats in Congressional Districts 1 and 3.
- District 1, which includes Scottsdale and parts of north Phoenix, is poised to be extremely competitive and is ranked a "toss-up" by Cook Political Report. Republican Rep. David Schweikert is the incumbent.
- District 3, which includes south and west Phoenix, is a Democratic stronghold left open when current Rep. Ruben Gallego decided to run for U.S. Senate.
District 1: Amish Shah, Andrei Cherny and Andrew Horne announced their candidacies this week.
- Shah has served in the state House since 2019 and practices emergency and sports medicine.
- Cherny was most recently the CEO of Aspiration, a sustainability-focused bank. He is a former Arizona assistant attorney general and ran for Congress unsuccessfully against now-Sen. Kyrsten Sinema in 2012.
- Horne is a political newcomer and local orthodontist.
District 3: Yassamin Ansari and Raquel Terán became the first of what we expect to be many politicians shooting their shot at the coveted Democratic seat.
- Ansari is currently a Phoenix council member. She formerly worked for the United Nations advising on climate policy.
- Terán is a state senator and served as chair of the Arizona Democratic Party during last year's elections.
What's next: Hang on to your hats! There will surely be more announcements in the next month or so.