Yassamin Ansari | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2025 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Ruben Gallego |
| Member of thePhoenix City Council from the 7th district | |
| In office April 19, 2021 – March 28, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Nowakowski |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Galindo-Elvira |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1992-04-07)April 7, 1992 (age 33) Seattle,Washington, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) St. John's College, Cambridge (MPhil) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Yassamin Ansari (/ˈjɑːsəmɪnænˈsɑːri/YAH-sə-min an-SAH-ree, born April 7, 1992)[1][2] is an American politician andclimate policy advocate who serves as theU.S. representative forArizona's 3rd congressional district since 2025. ADemocrat, she previously served on thePhoenix City Council from 2021 to 2024.[3][4][5]
At the time of her election to the Phoenix City Council, Ansari was the youngest person to be elected to the council and the firstIranian American elected to public office inArizona.[2] In 2024, she was elected to the House to succeedRuben Gallego, who was elected in the2024 Senate election. Ansari is also the youngest female member of Congress.[6]
Ansari was born inSeattle, Washington, to parents who immigrated to the United States after fleeingIran following theIslamic Revolution.[1][2][7][8] Ansari grew up inScottsdale, Arizona and attendedChaparral High School. In high school, she organized with theArizona Democratic Party in support ofBarack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and worked with her mother to tutorSomali refugees.[7] Ansari attendedStanford University, and received a bachelor's degree in international relations.[7][9] During college, Ansari interned forNancy Pelosi.[10][11]
After graduation, she was selected forThe John Gardner Fellowship Program and started working in the office ofUN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon.[11] She worked as a senior policy advisor with Ban, spending a year working on theParis Agreement, and later worked in the same role with Ban's successor,António Guterres.[3][9] She started working towards a master's degree in international relations and politics fromSt. John's College, Cambridge in 2016 as aGates Cambridge Scholar, which she ultimately received.[9][11][12] She continued to be involved in promoting climate action, helping plan the Climate Action 2016 Summit, theGlobal Climate Action Summit, and the first U.N. Youth Climate Summit.[13][14]
Ansari ran in a November 2020 election to fill the seat vacated by Michael Nowakowski, representing Phoenix's 7th District.[15] The top two of the five contenders in the general election, Ansari and Cinthia Estela, continued to a runoff election that took place on March 9, 2021.[10][15] Ansari took office as a council member on April 19, 2021.[16]
While in office, she created an Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.[17] It has sought to plant trees, reduce pavement heat absorption, educate residents, and distribute resources including water.[18] She helped develop a plan to promote use ofelectric vehicles, and advocated for the city to purchasehydrogen fuel cell andbattery electric public buses.[19][20] She attended the2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference with Phoenix mayorKate Gallego, as well as the2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[13][21][22]
Along with other Phoenix City Council members, Ansari was criticized in 2022 for using a suite atFootprint Center, a sports venue owned by the city, to watch games and concerts; following the criticism, the council voted to review its economic development efforts and consider leasing out the suite.[23][24]
Ansari resigned her City Council seat on March 28, 2024, to focus on her congressional campaign.[25] FormerHayden Mayor Carlos Galindo-Elvira was appointed to fill the remainder of her term.[26]
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Ansari had been considered a potential 2024 contender forArizona's 3rd congressional district.[27][28] She announced her candidacy for the seat on April 4, 2023,[2][29] and led early fundraising in the race.[5][30][31][32] In September 2023,Axios reported that Ansari andRaquel Terán would likely dominate the race.[33] Ansari raised over $325,000 in the first quarter of 2024, bringing her total raised to more than $1.35 million.[34] In August 2024, Ansari won the primary by 39 votes,[35] and won the general election in the deep-blue district, winning nearly 71% of the vote.[36]
In November 2024, Ansari was elected the Democratic freshman class president.[37] Ansari chose to boycottDonald Trump's inauguration, choosing instead to attend aMartin Luther King Jr. Day March in Phoenix, in her district.[38] In April 2025, she joined a group of Democratic colleagues in the House in traveling toEl Salvador to investigate the condition ofKilmar Abrego Garcia.[39]
Ansari appointed thechief of staff for the Israel critic and progressive former congressmanJamaal Bowman from New York to serve as her chief of staff.[40]
Source:[41]
Ansari is aprogressive Democrat.[44][40]
Ansari has advocated forclimate action andsustainability efforts.[13]
Ansari supportslabor unions andLGBTQ rights.[45]
In 2022, Ansari supported expanding temporary and affordable housing options to help addresshomelessness in Phoenix.[46]
Following thekilling of Alex Pretti in January 2026, Ansari called forabolishingICE.[47]
Ansari had been endorsed by the pro-Israel lobby groupDemocratic Majority for Israel (DMFI),[48] and supported continued U.S. military aid to Israel "without additional conditions" along with the expansion of theAbraham Accords during her 2024 election campaign.[49] In November 2024, Ansari criticized a proposal by SenatorBernie Sanders that would block $20 billion in arm sales to Israel amid theGaza war, saying, "this resolution will attempt to deprive Israel of the materials needed for deterrence and defense while also accomplishing nothing to improve the situation in Gaza."[50]
In January 2025, Ansari was among a minority of House Democrats who voted for legislation rebuking and sanctioning theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials overarrest warrants issued against Israeli leaders. Ansari said that the ICC's actions were inappropriate and "as a liberal democracy with an independent judiciary, Israel has the responsibility of investigating allegations of wrongdoing".[51]
In June 2025, Ansari expressed support for the now-defunctIran nuclear deal and opposed U.S. military intervention in Iran.[52]
She was born Muslim but now considers herself agnostic.[53]
According to financial disclosures, Ansari's father lent her between $250,000 and $500,000 for a condo payment.[54] Ansari's financial disclosures from October 2023 showed that she owns two properties in downtown Phoenix and made between $15,000 and $50,000 in 2023 by renting one. Ansari also estimated in the disclosure that her assets were worth between $2.5 million and $8.3 million.[55]
In 2019, Ansari was selected for theGrist 50, an annual list of people taking environmental action.[14] In 2020, Ansari was selected for theForbes 30 Under 30: Policy and Law list.[9]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cinthia Estela | 15,929 | 32.33 | |
| Yassamin Ansari | 15,813 | 32.09 | |
| Francisca Montoya | 8,897 | 18.06 | |
| G. Grayson Flunoy | 4,301 | 8.73 | |
| Susan Mercado-Gudino | 4,051 | 8.22 | |
| Write-in | 282 | 0.57 | |
| Total votes | 49,272 | 100.00 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yassamin Ansari | 7,850 | 58.33 | |
| Cinthia Estela | 5,609 | 41.67 | |
| Total votes | 13,459 | 100.0 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Yassamin Ansari | 19,087 | 44.6 | |
| Democratic | Raquel Terán | 19,045 | 44.5 | |
| Democratic | Duane Wooten | 4,687 | 10.9 | |
| Total votes | 42,819 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Yassamin Ansari | 143,336 | 70.9 | |
| Republican | Jeff Zink | 53,705 | 26.6 | |
| Green | Alan Aversa | 5,008 | 2.5 | |
| Write-in | 16 | 0.0 | ||
| Total votes | 202,065 | 100.0 | ||
Ansari's grandparents fled Iran after the revolution of 1979, and she says her family generally left religious practice behind in the trauma. "I actually consider myself agnostic… I respect everyone's faith, but I do not personally practice one."
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 3rd congressional district 2025–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 368th | Succeeded by |
| Territorial (1863–1912) |
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| Oneat-large seat (1912–1943) |
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| Two at-large seats (1943–1949) |
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| Districts (1949–present) (3rd district established in 1963) (4th district established in 1973) (5th district established in 1983) (6th district established in 1993) (7th and 8th districts established in 2003) (9th district established in 2013) |
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