September 23, 2022
Iranian-American Darya Farivar has emerged in first place in Washington state’s August primary and will be on the November ballot as a candidate for member of the state House of Representatives from Seattle.
Washington uses what is sometimes called a “jungle primary” in which Republicans, Democrats and independents all run in a single primary with the top two finishers moving on to the November ballot.
The August 2 primary drew five candidates for the open seat. All the candidates were Democrats.
Farivar came out on top with 32.5 percent of the vote, followed by Lelach Rave with 28.2 percent of the 40,276 ballots cast. Rave raised almost three times as much campaign money as Farivar. The two will now face each other on the November ballot with the other three candidates eliminated.
Farivar’s parents left Iran after the revolution and she was born in Seattle, in the very same legislative district she now seeks to represent.
Farivar identifies herself as Iranian on her campaign website and has been active in the Iranian community as a current board member of Peyvand, a group that supports Iranian students at the University of Washington.
She is currently employed as the director of public policy for Disability Rights Washington and prides herself on a career working to help vulnerable populations, starting with her degree in communication disorders from the University of Redlands, which set her off working with children and adults suffering speech disorders. She then worked with immigrants and refugees with developmental disabilities.
Her website says, “She believes that public service is about more than being a voice for the vulnerable it’s about lifting their voices.”
She uses a Persian boteh in her campaign literature.
Unmarried, Farivar lives with her large dog named Dragon.
Meanwhile, in the August 23 primaries in Florida, Anna Eskamani faced no opposition for the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives from the Orlando area. She has already been elected to two two-year terms and is expected to win easily again in November. Eskamani, 32, was born in Orlando and serves in a newly drawn district that gave Joe Biden an 18-point margin in 2020.
Eskamani worked for Planned Parenthood before her election and is making a major issue out of abortion rights. Her GOP opponent, Bonnie Jackson, has said she would support a “heartbeat” bill, which bans any abortions after a heartbeat can be detected, which is generally about six weeks after conception and before many women know they are pregnant.
