Thereβs only one reason youβd like to be called the βestablishment candidateβ in an election campaign.
It probably means youβre in the lead.
Other than that, especially now in the Democratic Party, being part of βthe establishmentβ is a downer. Thatβs one of the lessons people are taking from the recent nomination of Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist outsider, as Democratic candidate for New York City mayor, along with other party battles.
Adelita Grijalva, seen here during a Democratic primary debate in June.
Itβs also why you see opponents of Adelita Grijalva calling her the βestablishmentβ candidate in the race for the Democratic Party nomination in Congressional District 7. Democratic primary voters are angry and looking for somebody to take on the partyβs establishment, who many think have not been fighting hard enough against President Trump.
The 25-year-old newcomer Deja Foxx, in particular, has pointed to Grijalva as part of βthe establishmentβ in making the case for herself as an outsider. She argued to the Arizona Republic that other βestablishmentβ Democrats such as U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are trying βto box me out.β
The other well-known Democratic candidate out of the five running for the nomination also labeled Grijalva the βestablishmentβ candidate.
βAdelita has been in office since I was 13 years old. Her father was in office longer than Iβve been alive,β Daniel Hernandez Jr. told me in a text message. βI donβt see more of an establishment candidate than someone who has been office for over 20 years and whose father was in office for nearly 50 years.β
Still, the βestablishmentβ accusation seems a bit baffling to Grijalva. She grew up the daughter of a rabble-rouser who forged his own political machine as a leftier, Latino-led alternative to the centrist, Anglo-led Democratic establishment.
βI have to admit, I know my dad would have a good laugh if he heard people calling him βthe establishment,β she wrote in an Arizona Daily Star guest column Monday. βThe words βGrijalvaβ and βestablishmentβ have never been used in the same sentence, unless you insert βfighting theβ in between.β
In a written statement Tuesday, Grijalva added, βWhen the Democratic Party wasnβt investing in candidates who looked like me or came from communities like mine, we forged our own path. Built alongside teachers, union organizers, environmentalists, and lifelong activists, the βGrijalva machineβ is powered by people who have always fought for justice, not power. If that makes us the βestablishmentβ in Tucson, then maybe itβs time to rethink what that word really means.β
To me, what it means is they won enough elections to gain significant political power. Outsiders, both Democrats and Republicans, view the βGrijalva machineβ as an unstoppable force in local elections.
A Grijalva ally, Regina Romero, has been Tucson mayor for almost six years, having won two elections to the post. And at least two other members of the City Council are also close Grijalva allies, with more possibly in the wings depending on this yearβs election results.
Same thing at the Pima County Board of Supervisors and Tucson Unified School District board: At least two members on each board are members of the Grijalva group, while others frequently are aligned with their points of view.
Once upon a time, locally, the Grijalva network was anti-establishment. Then it won enough elections to become the local Democratic establishment. Now its progressive views are dominant in many local boards.
That doesnβt necessarily mean Raul Grijalva became βestablishmentβ in Congress. I asked former Rep. Ron Barber, who served alongside Grijalva from 2012 to 2015, about whether he viewed Grijalva that way.
βIf a member of Congress is outside of the mainstream of the party and what it espouses, then they could be called anti-establishment. Certainly, Raul Grijalva challenged the establishment all of the time,β Barber said.
But locally, it can be hard to be a Democrat, especially on the south and west sides, who doesnβt ally himself with the Grijalva group. Hernandez recalled that when he decided to run for office, βI never asked for permission, so he (Raul Grijalva) ran people against me basically every time I ran for office.β
Of course, this election is about Adelita Grijalva, the candidate, not her late father, even if he casts a long shadow over the race.
The trick for her is to translate the βestablishmentβ label into something more appealing. βEstablishmentβ can just as well mean accomplished, skilled, wise, able.
Grijalva has also been talking about herself as a βfighterβ against Trump, something the partyβs primary voters clearly want. Maybe itβs possible to be both β establishment and a fighter. If Grijalva can show thatβs not a contradiction, she may have the race locked up.
