4 highlights from Arizona primaries: Progressive Dem loses; Trump-backed candidates win
3. Progressive candidate loses Democratic primary; Muslim reformer wins GOP primary
While candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America won congressional primaries for heavily Democratic seats in New York last month, these candidates were also supported by other progressive advocacy groups, including Our Revolution PAC and the Progressive Democrats of America (PDA). The latter two groups’ success in getting progressive Democrats to win congressional primaries did not extend to Arizona’s 4th Congressional District.
Unofficial results show incumbent Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., beating Our Revolution- and PDA-backed challenger Kai Newkirk by approximately 25 percentage points. Newkirk’s campaign website explicitly calls for the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the expansion of the U.S. Supreme Court and Medicare for All.
Stanton will be favored against Republican nominee Zuhdi Jasser in the general election, as Democrat Kamala Harris carried Arizona’s 4th Congressional District by about 7 percentage points in 2024.
Jasser is the founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy and a practicing Muslim who told The Christian Post in 2015 that “As an American, I am at war with anyone who swears allegiance to Islamic State.”
“They are at war with us and with our way of life and we must be at war with them until they are permanently destroyed,” he added.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
