PHOENIX — A political ad running on television, including on 12News, claims that "MAGA Extremist" donors are funding Democrat Raquel Teran's campaign for CD3.
"The team behind Kari Lake, Paul Gosar and other MAGA extremists now brings you Raquel Teran," the ad says.
The ad is paid for by Mainstream Democrats PAC, and starts by citing campaign contributions in a list that runs down the screen, claiming the donations come from "the same donors behind MAGA Republicans".
There are two names on the list: Oscar Ramirez and Stan Barnes, both listed as donating to "Teran for Congress."
12News looked at federal campaign contributions through the Federal Election Commission. Only two contributions from anyone with the name Oscar Ramirez are listed as going to Teran for Congress. Both list the same employer, Fulcrum Public Affairs in Washington, DC.
The founder of Fulcrum is named Oscar Ramirez, and he donates almost exclusively to Democratic candidates. His biography on the website shows he worked for three Democratic congressional campaigns and worked for the Obama administration.
Stan Barnes, the other name on the ad's list, is an Arizona Republican consultant and former state legislator. According to FEC records, Barnes has donated to many Republican candidates, including some who would be considered "MAGA Republicans" like Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs.
"A longtime Kari Lake strategist is now helping elect Teran," the ad says about Barnes.
In an interview with Politico, Barnes said he was a longtime friend of Lake and had given advice to her in her failed gubernatorial run in 2022. But he told 12News he doesn't work for either campaign.
“The ad is portraying me as as somehow engaged in her campaign, which I'm not," Barnes said. "The ad portrays me as somehow engaged as a consultant to the Kari Lake campaign, which I am not.”
Barnes said he doesn't exclusively donate to Republican campaigns. His FEC contributions also list a donation to Daniel Hernandez, Jr., who lost a bid for Congress in 2022.
Barnes said he sometimes makes donations to people he doesn't agree with.
“I made a contribution [to Teran] because we were friends," Barnes said. "That's it. I don't particularly agree with her point of view of the world.”
"It's pretty misleading," Teran said of the ad.
“Stan is somebody who is in the middle of the road," she said.
A person representing Mainstream Democrats PAC told 12News off camera that they stand by the ad. He said the ad's facts are accurate and that the group was under no obligation to find out the reasons behind them.
He said he did not believe the ad was misleading or inaccurate.
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