Raquel Terán attacks Yassamin Ansari as a 'millionaire landlord' in congressional debate

Former state Sen. Raquel Terán put her primary opponent on the defensive Wednesday by labeling former Phoenix Vice Mayor Yassamin Ansari a “millionaire landlord” and charging she has accepted a substantial amount of campaign money from donors who have also given large amounts to the GOP.

For most of the debate between Democratic candidates in Arizona's 3rd Congressional District, the rivals voiced their agreement on the Democratic Party’s platform on issues such as abortion and immigration.

Halfway through the hourlong affair, Terán charged that her competitor “has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from MAGA donors who have bankrolled Donald Trump and anti-abortion extremists."

"We have gone through this process before, when we had (U.S. Sen.) Kyrsten Sinema who went on to the Senate and ended up clinging to the GOP donors,” Terán said, referencing how Sinema, a holdout for several Democratic priorities in Congress, took money from business interests.

Ansari replied that many of the campaign donors Terán mentioned had given to Democrats as well. Any others, she said, “are largely Iranian Americans in this country who are excited to see the first Iranian-American Democrat elected to the U.S. Congress.”

"Trying to mislead voters to say it's anything else is, frankly, xenophobic, offensive, and incredibly off-base,” she continued.

"Voters and the people who are watching can go to the (Federal Election Commission) website and do their own research," Terán replied.

Terán’s campaign provided a list of dozens of Ansari’s donors who they said had given to Republican causes or political committees in the past. They said their donations amount to $200,000 total, which if accurate would amount to about 14% of Ansari’s total campaign receipts. The Arizona Republic could not immediately verify the campaign data.

Terán went after Ansari again as the debate turned to the topic of housing affordability. Terán charged that Ansari, who has degrees from Stanford and Cambridge universities, “frankly, is very disconnected from what's happening in our community."

"She is a millionaire landlord herself who has benefited from a loan from her father, and has an advanced degree, and is charging above the average payment’s rent,” she said.

Taking questions from the press after the debate, Ansari said “I don't consider myself a millionaire” but confirmed that she rents out a property.

Ansari reported well above $1 million in assets on a recent financial disclosure. Her father loaned her between $250,000 and $500,000 “for condo payment,” according to the disclosure.

"It's very telling that she's focused on personal attacks against me because she knows she cannot attack my progressive record,” Ansari replied during the debate.

She charged that Terán only had one bill heard in committee during her five years in the Arizona Legislature and voted against $50 million to address homelessness.

Terán replied that she voted against the measure because it would “criminalize” homelessness.

In an interview after the debate Ansari characterized Terán's charges as "personal attacks."

"Yassamin spent the debate talking about her record of progressive accomplishments and her progressive vision in Congress. That's the debate the voters deserved," her campaign manager Pasquale Luz said in a written statement.

The third candidate onstage, physician Duane Wooten, largely stayed above the fray. He argued his experience and interpersonal skills as a physician would equip him to deliver in office, especially on health care policy.

"Too many of our former politicians ... have talked a great game. As soon as they got into a position to make a change they've done nothing. If they had, I wouldn't be running for office right now,” he said in an interview after the debate.

The candidates are running to represent Arizona's Democratic-friendly 3rd Congressional District, which covers much of western, southern, and downtown Phoenix. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., the incumbent, is running for the Senate this year.

Because the district leans heavily Democratic, the candidate that wins the July 30 Democratic primary is expected to breeze through the general election in November. If history is any guide, whoever wins the nomination could hold the seat for years or even decades to come.

Laura Gersony covers national politics for the Arizona Republic. Contact her at 480-372-0389.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona's 3rd Congressional District: Democrats square off in debate