Sen. Mark Kelly makes endorsement for Congress in this crowded Democratic race

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly endorsed former state lawmaker Raquel Terán in her congressional bid Monday, giving her early backing from Arizona’s most visible Democrat in Washington.

The move helps Terán, who headed the Arizona Democratic Party during the 2022 election cycle, stand apart in an already crowded field in the race to succeed U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz.

Gallego is running for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., leaving an opening for his district, which spans south Phoenix and the West Valley and is considered safe turf for Democrats.

Terán’s tenure as chairwoman of the state Democrats included Kelly’s 2022 reelection. In a written statement, Kelly said she played a role in his victory.

“Raquel has spent nearly two decades working to build the diverse coalition that turned our state blue,” Kelly said. “She was an integral part of my election and the elections of Democrats up and down the entire ticket.

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“I’ve also seen firsthand Raquel’s dedication to fighting for Arizona’s working families. She’s delivered in the state Legislature, working to protect fair wages for Arizona workers and abortion rights, as well as advocating for climate action. It’s that can-do spirit we need more of in Washington.”

Terán welcomed Kelly’s support, calling him “a critical leader for expanding our economy in Arizona.”

“As he has said many times, we need to create an Arizona economy with more good-paying jobs – including for people without a college degree,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to partnering with him to improve our jobs market for working families, and to deliver for our Dreamers.”

Kelly, who was on the ballot in 2020 and 2022, has known Terán in Democratic politics for years and she is a member of his Latino Kitchen Cabinet, which works on issues especially significant to Hispanics. She is the first candidate he has endorsed in the 2024 election cycle, a sign that he could be influential in state and national politics. Kelly has appeared alongside Senate Democrats facing reelection in 2024.

But Kelly’s formal backing for Terán comes even as he has remained conspicuously silent on the man who wants to work with him in the Senate and whom she hopes to replace.

Gallego formally entered the Senate race in January. Sinema has filed preliminary paperwork to seek another term but has not officially said she will do so.

Senate Democrats have largely avoided endorsing the only prominent Democrat in the race, while Sinema remains a pivotal vote on pending matters in Congress.

Terán was a state senator from Phoenix until April, when she resigned to focus on her congressional run.

She was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2018 and joined the Senate in 2021 as an appointee to fill the seat vacated by Tony Navarrete, who quit after his arrest on charges of sexually abusing a teen boy and trying to do so with another.

Terán quickly rose to Democratic leader in the state Senate. She quit that post in February when she was formally considering her congressional run.

The race for Gallego’s House seat includes four other Democrats.

Laura Pastor is a Phoenix City Council member whose late father, former Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., represented for 23 years much of the same area that Gallego now does.

Also running is Ylenia Aguilar, a member of the school board for the Osborn school district; Yassamin Ansari, the vice mayor of Phoenix; and Hector Jaramillo, an at-large member of the Glendale Elementary School District Governing Board.

The Democratic primary is in August 2024. With Democrats enjoying a 32 percentage point registration advantage over Republicans in the 3rd Congressional District, the winner in the primary will be heavily favored to win against any Republican.

Terán previously worked for Planned Parenthood and was an organizer in the pushback against Senate Bill 1070, Arizona’s controversial 2010 immigration-enforcement law.