During the primary campaign Adelita Grijalva fought against being labeled the establishment candidate.
But the old-school grassroots political machine her father built across Southern Arizona over decades before his death earlier this year carried her to an easy primary victory over her closest rival Deja Foxx, a Gen-Zer who used her social media savvy to make a run for the seat held for years by the late Raúl Grijalva, who died in March.
Adelita Grijalva hugs a supporter as she works the crowd at her primary election night watch party Tuesday at South Tucson’s El Casino Ballroom.
“It was not about social media likes. It was about knocking on doors, face-to-face with community members, having real conversations about what’s important ... I stand on the shoulders of giants, and I am so thankful that my dad taught us all that this is how you do this work,” Grijalva, who left her seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors to run for Congress, said at South Tucson’s El Casino Ballroom, the same venue where a few months ago the Grijalva family hosted hundreds of supporters for a celebration of life following her father’s funeral.
“This is how you get this done. And if you look at the results, that’s what that says,” Grijalva said.
“I’ve never run a race where I’m just like in mourning. So it’s been an adjustment . . . It’s been very humbling. So many people have been so supportive,” Grijalva said.
After her victory was clear, Grijalva shared a lesson from her dad with her supporters.
“You know, my dad said you have to hit the ground running, and you can cry later. So that’s what we’re going to do now,” she said. “We’re going to cry later, and I want to cry after I win, as my mom reminded me. So that would be September 23.”
Grijalva will face Daniel Butierez, a painting company owner who cruised to victory in the three-way GOP primary by collecting about 60 percent of the vote, in a Sept. 23 special election for heavily-Democratic district.
‘Results aren’t what we hoped for’
Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer, digital strategist and reproductive rights advocate, burst onto Tucson’s political scene this spring, using her social media skills to quickly make a charge at Grijalva, who became the one to beat the moment she decide to seek her father’s seat.
Deja Foxx speaks to supporters at a primary night gathering at Zerai’s International Bar in midtown Tucson.
During the primary campaign, Foxx collected about 21% of the Democratic vote. She had more votes than former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez (14%); retired health care executive Patrick Harris Sr. (1.5%); and activist and scholar Jose Malvido Jr. (1%).
Grijalva led Foxx, by about 40 percentage points when The Associated Press declared her the winner.
Foxx declined to talk to reporters Tuesday night at a gathering of nearly 100 supporters at midtown’s Zerai’s International Bar.
Foxx did not respond to the Arizona Daily Star Wednesday.
And Foxx initially tried to deliver a concession speech via Zoom even though she was in another part of the property for the night’s gathering.
On Wednesday, Foxx posted a statement on social media.
“While results aren’t what we hoped for — I couldn’t be prouder of what we built together,” she wrote online.
“For so many, this was your first time getting involved in politics—and let me tell you: you made a difference. You made calls, knocked doors, donated what you could. You believed in something bigger than yourself, you believed change was possible. That hope will carry on far past this election.”
She went on to offer her support to Grijalva, as did Hernandez.
Democratic candidate Adelita Grijalva mugs for a selfie with a supporter while awaiting results in Tuesday's primary election.
Before the result was known, supporter Kyle Brantley, a fellow with the Institute for Common Power, told the Star he flew into Arizona to help the Foxx campaign.
“I flew all the way from South Carolina here to knock on doors with Deja. In fact, me and a couple of my other colleagues flew all across the country to come here to knock on doors for Deja, to get out the vote to turn a new page on the old everlasting legacy of how one type of party, and we get a new page of a new progressive,” Brantley said.
“I support Deja because she brings a new breath of life into this party, to the Democratic Party, and she has proven time and time again that she’s a fighter, that she’s willing to fight for the things that we and that all of us as a community see as a basic human right,” said Brantley, one of dozens of people at Foxx’s results party.
Grijalva to continue progressive stance
Grijalva dominated the Democratic primary field with progressive stances on several issues her late father focused on during his long political career.
She said standing up for immigrant rights, protecting access to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security and addressing cost-of-living issues are among her top priorities.
“This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago,” Grijalva said in a statement.
Grijalva racked up a lengthy list of heavyweight endorsements — including Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and several state and local officials, the Associated Press noted.
“In a district that is 60 percent Hispanic, it is critical that voters see themselves in their representatives, and Adelita is the fighter they need in Congress,” said Rep. Linda Sánchez, chair of BOLD PAC, the Hispanic Caucus’ campaign organization.
She also raised a significant amount of money in the primary, about $911,000 since announcing her candidacy, according to her latest filing. That includes over $172,500 from PACs such as the Moms Fed Up PAC and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club, each contributing a total of $10,000 to the campaign.
An Arizona Daily Star analysis of Grijalva’s contributions showed that of the campaigns itemized donations, 63.5% came from donors in Arizona, 11% came from Washington D.C., and 6% from Maryland. Itemized donations made up about 55% of Grijalva’s $682,927.22 in individual donations, as previously reported.
If Grijalva wins the general election, she would be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress.
Eddie Barron, who volunteered for Grijalva, said the energy and emotions swirling around her Tuesday night watch party that included music and a dance floor crowded with mostly younger supporters was “fueled by community.”
“We were told that young people were not going to show up in this race, but we are seeing the numbers, and we are seeing that people who are who are rooted here, candidates who are rooted here, can win with a youth led coalition,” Barron said. “We were out every weekend, canvassing. We called. We were making phone calls until the polls closed. And there’s so much excitement for what’s happening right now, and this community should feel very proud of the person they just elected.”
Jenalyn Lazana, a National Guard veteran, said she is supporting Grijalva because she sees “hope and inspiration, and leadership and courage” in her.
Foxx’s social media deluge brought attention to this race on a national level. But the attempt to try to make this race “a reflection of what happened in New York” and Zohran Mamdani’s primary win by national outlets is a “complete misrepresentation” of Tuesday night’s result, Grijalva said.
“That’s not what that was, I’m not a Cuomo, and this was not that race ... what we really focused on was getting our issues out to the voters, and reminding people who I am, and introducing myself to the counties that are unfamiliar with me. And what I talked about resonated in what representative they wanted in Congress,” Grijalva said.
“They say, well 99% of your policies are the same. Well, respectfully, one of the candidates didn’t have any policies on her website until about a week and a half ago,” she said. “What I tried to do when we were talking is like, ‘this is what I would work on in Congress because this is how it would affect you.’ That’s exactly what Mamdani did. It was about reaching out to people to talk about policy in a different way. And I thought that was incredibly creative.”
With just over two months to go before the general election, Grijalva said her campaign will focus on what the Big Beautiful Bill, and the massive influx in ICE funding, will mean for local communities.
“I think that going specifically to very community to say, this is how it’s going to affect San Luis and Somerton, and this is why we need vocal opponents to this. This is why we need you to reach out to your senators and members of Congress . . . I just think that we need to really mobilize people in understanding what is actually happening,” she said. “A lot of it (will be) really trying to educate people on this and let them know ... (and) encourage a discussion about what this means.”
“Specific situations that happen, like ICE raids in Nogales and those things. I think that’s the kind of hitting that our community are really going to be hit with, especially with ICE having a budget that’s 20 times what it was last year,” she said.
Eddie Barron, left, a volunteer for Adelita Grijalva, and Cassandra Becerra, a long-time staffer for late Rep. Raúl Grijalva embrace as the first election results released Tuesday night showed their candidate with a sizable lead in the Democratic primary.
Butierez claims cross-party appeal
The general election will be a sort of rematch for Butierez, who lost handily to Raúl Grijalva in November’s general election.
Butierez collected nearly 61% of the vote in the easily three-candidate Republican primary.
Dozens of people attended Butierez’s watch party at a restaurant on Tucson’s south side. After getting through security, supporters found Delicias Mexican Grill draped in red, white and blue decorations. There was plenty of food and three cakes with “Hope,” “Unity” and “Community” inscribed on them.
Butierez, sporting a beige suit and cowboy hat, was confident well before the results started to roll in. He cited his cross-party appeal.
“There’s a whole lot of Democrats that align with Republicans and a whole lot of Republicans that align with Democrats,” he said. “There’s little differences that separate people.”
Butierez says his primary issues are fight “alongside Trump to finally secure our border,” find ways to slash taxes, boost support for struggling veterans, “Take back our streets from criminals and gangs” and “Crush the fentanyl crisis destroying our families.”
Daniel Butierez talks with reporters as he and his supports waited for election results at a watch party Tuesday night at Delicias Mexican Grill on Tucson’s south side.
“When I walked out of prison, it felt like I had walked into a bigger prison. What they did in prison was divide us by race, by religion,” said Butierez, who served nearly 13 years in prison on drug charges, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections.
“So when I walked out of prison, I saw our government was doing the same thing to the people out here in the community that the prisons were doing to the inmates in prison . . . So I realized we got to bring everybody together, or we’re never going to get anything done.”
Butierez told the Star ahead of results Tuesday night that Grijalva should win the Democratic primary because she, like himself, is a home-grown Tucsonan.
“It should be the hometown boy against the hometown girl,” he said. “Deja, she’s not hispanic. She’s caucasian and Filipino. She’s got no hispanic in her, and we’re 60% Hispanic, so that’s going to hurt her . . . but other than that she’s got a high IQ.”
Eric Neilson, attending the watch party, said that he was supporting Butierez because his story is different than most political candidates.
“If he wins, it’ll be better for the community and his constituents will get better service in Congress,” Neilson said. “Grijalva occupied that seat for 22 years. Don’t know the guy, but, you know, he passed away, God bless his soul. But I know Democrats that didn’t like him. He just took care of his family, plus, he was voted the most left-wing progressive politician in all of Congress a few times. So we don’t need that as a community. We’re all Americans.”
Butierez beat Jimmy Rodriguez, an off-road vehicle businessman who collected about 25% of the vote, and Jorge Rivas, a restaurant owner, who received 14% of the vote.
By the beginning of July, Butierez raised nearly $180,000 since his campaign formed in March. But about three-quarters of that, $136,470, was loaned to the campaign by Butierez himself, according to a July 2 filing.
The results of Tuesday’s primary will remain unofficial until they are certified on July 31 by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
Democrats have a nearly 2-1 ratio registration advantage over Republicans in the 7th District, which reaches into six Arizona counties.
Still, Butierez believes he can win Democratic voters as a candidate with cross-party appeal.
“I’m running for everybody. As you saw on (Proposition 414), Democrats came over with the Republicans. We voted together,” he said during the Republican debate in June, “and I believe that’s what is going to happen this time. I’m running to represent everybody.”
