Ginger Sykes Torres announced her candidacy for Congress in January, committed to helping make Arizona's 1st Congressional District a better place to live. Ginger was recently targeted in a lawsuit that challenged her petition signatures. Despite submitting nearly a thousand signatures above the needed threshold, the county provided their review Monday which determined that the campaign's valid signatures did not meet the requirements needed. After exploring numerous legal avenues to find a path forward, it was ultimately determined that the situation was untenable. Yesterday, in a heartfelt video featuring Ginger and her family, Ginger announced her withdrawal from the race for Congress.

Matt Grodsky, the spokesperson for the campaign, said:

“There were numerous challenges for congressional candidates this cycle due to the confusion of redistricting, the E-Qual site going down, and the high cost of paid circulation. The campaign’s paid signatures were turned into the campaign less than 24 hours before the submission deadline with the understanding that the signatures had been validated by a reputable company commonly used among Democratic campaigns. However, after the lawsuit was filed and upon internal review, it was discovered that there were multiple bad signatures that should have been vetted by the circulating company. Everyone involved with the campaign is incredibly frustrated by the lack of the circulation company’s oversight and we are devastated for Ginger.

“Nevertheless, it would be unfortunate if this challenge came about due to a Democrat allegedly attacking another Democrat through proxy."

Following the news of her withdrawal, Ginger released the following statement:

“I announced my candidacy for Congress because I am determined to make life better for the people of my district. I am a firm believer in our democracy and the importance of allowing voters to decide the democratic candidate for the general election.

“This lawsuit has not been easy to deal with, but I am relying on the strength of my ancestors, family, and friends to get me through this difficult time. Native Americans have been cast aside for decades, we fought through our culture getting stripped away during the boarding school era, and were prevented from voting in this state until the 1970s. It is time for us to advance and support more Native American candidates up and down the ballot. Our voices can no longer be disregarded.

"This is not the end of my story. I will continue standing up for what is right and paving the way for future generations."

Original source can be found here.