Congressional candidate Nick Pierson isn't backing away from the personal attacks he lobbed Tuesday night during a televised debate, saying Rep. Raúl Grijalva is "not a good example of a Mexican."
In an interview with the Arizona Daily Star editorial board on Wednesday, the Congressional District 3 Republican candidate repeatedly stood by his criticism of the Tucson Democrat, calling him a bad role model for people in the community.
During the debate Tuesday night on KAET-TV, Pierson said Grijalva is “not a good example of a Mexican, not a good example of a Mexican-American, and he’s not a good example of an American.”
Pierson, who said his parents were Mexican citizens, added that “I’m as Mexican as he is."
Grijalva responded on Wednesday that Pierson has already run out of attacks, and is going to spend the rest of the campaign repeating the same criticisms.
"He is going to keep repeating himself, that is all he have," Grijalva said. "It is straight out of the Trump playbook."
Pierson also repeated allegations he made during the televised debate, saying he believes Grijalva is a drunk — Grijalva denies he has ever been drunk on the job — and offering to bring in witnesses.
But Pierson conceded there might not be any official records that prove his claim against Grijalva.
Pierson also claimed that the Hispanic community no longer supports Grijalva.
"The community, South Tucson and the west side of the city, they are embarrassed," the former financial advisor told the Star. "They are tired of him only showing up for quinceañeras and weddings."
On Tuesday night, Grijalva noted that his opponent doesn't even live in Congressional District 3 and that he has not seen him at any of the community events he has been attending for decades.
His rival acknowledged he doesn't live in CD3.
"I live nearby the district," Pierson responded.
Pressed for more details about what he meant by "not a good example of a Mexican," Pierson attempted to go off-the-record with the Star editorial board, but his request was declined. Pierson had been informed days before the meeting with the Star that the entire interview would be recorded, and he was reminded again at the start of the meeting on Wednesday.
The political newcomer struggled at times to offer examples of his contention that the congressional district hasn't done well during Grijalva's years of representation, relaying anecdotes about unfinished sidewalks, bloated city contracts, Tucson Unified School District mismanagement, and water quality issues on the south side of Tucson.
"They may not be federal issues, but they need to be addressed," Pierson said.
He said he's worried Arizona's spending is heading the way of California's, a state he said is on the brink of bankruptcy. "The could easily go bankrupt with all the spending that they are doing," Pierson said. "If we are not going be careful (with federal spending) we are going to run out of money."
He later clarified that he was aware California had a massive surplus, saying he was referring to the state's pension system.
Pierson was the winner of a three-way Republican primary last month, defeating Army veteran Sergio Arellano and former teacher Edna San Miguel, for the chance to go up against Grijalva in November.
