Democrat Raquel Terán resigned from the Arizona Senate on Thursday to focus on her recently announced congressional run.
“Effective immediately, I have resigned as State Senator,” Terán said in a press release. “As I begin my next journey to support the people of Arizona, I extend my sincere thanks to the voters who trusted me, the staff who supported me, and colleagues who are fighting every day to make reality better in Arizona.”
Terán announced on April 5th that she would be a candidate in the race to replace Rep. Ruben Gallego in U.S. Congress in 2024.
According to AZFREE News, “records available via the Department of Justice (DOJ) Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), Terán received funds for her congressional campaign, “Raquel Terán For Congress,” as early as 2020 and 2021: $100 on December 1, 2020, and another $100 on January 2, 2021. Both amounts came from Felipe Carlos Benitez Rojas, who runs a political consultancy firm called Benitez Strategies.”
Department of Justice records show that as a foreign agent, in 2018 Benitez Rojas “provided public relations services and promoted the agenda of the foreign principal to highlight the importance of absentee voting in Mexico’s general election for Mexican nationals living in the United States.”
Terán, serving in the Senate after being elected in November, previously served in the Arizona House of Representatives. Her resume also includes other items that will appeal to primary voters, including being a Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona Civic Engagement Leader, and most recently serving as Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party.
The primary in Gallego’s heavily-Democratic district is expected to be both an expensive and crowded affair, which is the likely motivation for Terán abandoning her seat to be a full-time fundraiser and candidate.