Here's what Tucson congressional hopefuls have to say about Iran bombing

The U.S. bombing of three nuclear sites in Iran brought about mixed reactions from the five Democrats and three Republicans running for Arizona’s Congressional District 7 seat.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. military struck the Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz sites in Iran, joining Israel’s effort to wipe out Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Democratic candidate Adelita Grijalva, in a written statement Sunday, said it should have been Congress to make the decision to attack Iran.

“The United States Congress has the sole authority to declare war; Trump’s unilateral actions are unconstitutional,” Grijalva wrote. “Instead of entangling us in another endless conflict in the Middle East, we should be focused on the crises back home: rising costs, unaffordable healthcare, and a President that is ripping families apart with illegal ICE raids.”

Republican Daniel Butierez, who is one of three Republicans vying for the congressional seat, told the Star he was happy to hear of the U.S. bombing when news first broke Saturday night. But his feelings became more complicated soon after.

“About 15 minutes after it, I got a text, and my son had told me that his sister, my daughter, was going to be deployed. That kind of sobered me up ... she retires in two years from the United States Air Force,” Butierez said. “They didn’t deploy her, but they were getting ready to send out several of her friends. So it kind of touches home when you realize what it could involve.”

Nonetheless, Butierez said the actions taken over the weekend were necessary, as the possibility of Iran building a nuclear weapon is “a threat to the whole world.” He doesn’t think notifying Congress was necessary, he said.

“(Trump) did it just like (President Barack) Obama did it. Obama didn’t get anything from Congress — he did what he did. And the president has a right to immediately protect people,” Butierez said. “Do you think we really can wait for everybody to sit down and decide what they’re going to do when there’s a risk of that magnitude?”

For Democratic candidate Daniel Hernandez, while “Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon,” the attack on Saturday and Trump’s decision to do it “without involving Congress was wrong.”

“The American people do not want to be dragged into another endless war in the Middle East. We need a strategy rooted in diplomacy, one that safeguards our troops, protects U.S. interests, and promotes long-term security,” Hernandez said in a statement. “Our focus right now should be taking care of the needs of those at home.”

“Arizona needs us to focus on lowering costs, protecting good-paying union jobs, protecting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid,” Hernandez said.

Democratic congressional hopeful Deja Foxx said priorities on the international scale should not start with the bombing of Iran.

“We should not be dragged into another endless war by a reality TV president,” Foxx said in a written statement. “We need peace and aid for Gaza, and help for families here who are struggling with the cost of housing, food, and health care.”

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Republican Jimmy Rodriguez’s feelings have been mixed since news first broke, he told the Star.

“Initially what I thought was, you know, I can’t believe that he did this ... (but) I go, ‘how is it that he can do this without running it through Congress first?” Rodriguez said Monday. “I feel that would be something critical that should be run through. Now, I can understand if there was an imminent threat, if there was something that we knew ... but still, I feel like (Iran) was so far off from having a functional nuclear device, and this is very similar to what we heard when it was Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom.”

Rodriguez said that, while the attacks may have been necessary, “I can’t help but think that it just really shouldn’t have been done like that.’

“I think that they maybe needed to happen, yes, but there was a path that it should have gone down in order to make that happen. It’s similar to the DOGE cuts, I think that those things probably needed to happen, but I think that there was a specific avenue that you need to go through in order to do that,” he said. “I feel like the tools that Trump is pulling out of the toolbox and using ... (is like) ‘I’m just going to do it,’ and then I guess ask for forgiveness afterwards. And I think that just takes a lot of power away from Congress.”

But fellow Republican Jorge Rivas said he was happy to hear about the attack when news broke, and “proud that we have a great leader in the White House that recognizes the danger that Iran was about to have.”

“He had the guts to do something about it, so I feel grateful that we have someone who’s not afraid to use the right amount of force to take care of this issue,” he said. “To me, it was a top priority because if you’re dead, nothing else matters. If someone is trying to fry you like a piece of bacon, it doesn’t matter (what the next priority is). Lack of water or lack of food, or lack of health care, nothing else matters if you’re dead.”

Democrat Jose Malvido told the Star early Monday afternoon that he unequivocally opposes the “unprovoked” attack on Iran, and the Israel bombardment last week. He pointed to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s statements prior to Saturday’s attack, that the U.S. believed Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

“And that was just a few weeks before (the U.S. attack), and then Israel has been wanting to bomb and get rid of Iran for several years,” Malvido said. “I think that pulling the U.S. into this is going to result in a lot of unnecessary bloodshed, and there’s really no reason why, a good reason why this was done.”

Malvido said that this is a continuation of bad practices that presidents long before Trump have acted on, and the consequences of Saturday’s attack could be felt for a long time around the world.

“Congress is supposed to have the powers to declare war, but that hasn’t been used in over 40 years. ... That would’ve happened either way,” he said. “It might become a regional issue, which is going to be bad for everybody. Iran is talking about cutting off the Strait of Hormuz, where 25% of the world’s oil flows ... that’s going to not only hit us economically, but it’s going to hit the world economically. If that does happen. we’re going to get into a recession, or it may be even worse.”

Patrick Harris, Sr., a Democratic candidate, said Monday he did not want to “give a simple yes-or-no response” to Saturday’s events as he does not have the same information as Trump.

“The same truths before the bombing remain: one, Israel is and will remain a U.S. ally in the region; two, the world does not need more nuclear weapons; three: we don’t want to escalate a conflict that could draw in other nuclear powers; four: I have not been briefed on classified intelligence; and five: we should exhaust all diplomatic efforts,” he said.

“There will be those who go out and respond in favor or against, without being fully informed. I think as a member of Congress, we owe it to the American people to get fully informed, so that we can have informed opinions before we render an opinion,” Harris said. “When it comes to military intel or classified intel, I don’t know ... I lean towards, yeah, Congress should be the ones declaring war.”

The primary election in Congressional District 7, which includes part of Tucson, is on July 15 for each of the two political parties, and the special general election is on Sept. 23. The seat is open because Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a Democrat, died in office in March.