Democrat · Arizona's 3rd District · 2026
Yassamin Ansari
Ansari grew up in Arizona with Iranian immigrant parents and a mother who drew her into campaign volunteering while she was still in high school.
Biography
Yassamin Ansari grew up in Scottsdale with parents who had immigrated from Iran before and during the country's revolution.1 Her mother brought civic involvement into family life, and Ansari was still in high school when she began organizing for Barack Obama's presidential campaign.2
She studied international relations at Stanford and later pursued graduate study at Cambridge.1 Her early career took her into the United Nations, where she worked in the secretary general's office and on climate issues, including the international negotiations that produced the Paris climate agreement.1
Back in Arizona, Ansari served on the Phoenix City Council and as vice mayor before entering Congress in January 2025.2 Her campaign highlights her work on shelter and housing funding, worker protections during extreme heat, transportation electrification and community college assistance.2
Ansari represents the Phoenix based Third District and serves on the House Oversight and Natural Resources committees, including as the leading Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee.2 Seeking another term, she emphasizes lower household costs, reproductive rights, immigrant protections and oversight of federal agencies, while supporting clean energy and public lands protections.2