5 things to know about the Arizona special primary to succeed Grijalva

Voters are heading to the polls in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District on Tuesday to choose their primary picks to succeed the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), who died in March. 

Five Democrats are vying for the nomination to represent the blue district in Arizona, which stretches across much of the state’s southern border and includes portions of Tucson. 

The contest has largely turned into a three-way race between former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva; former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez; and Gen Z influencer Deja Foxx.

Here are five things to know about the Democratic contest to replace Grijalva:

Grijalva’s daughter is running for the seat

Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of the late congressman, is running to succeed her father. In addition to being a former Pima County supervisor, she has also served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board. She’s seen as the frontrunner in the race.

She has notably racked up endorsements from both Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), in addition to progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Groups like Emily’s List and the Congressional Progressive Caucus’ campaign arm are also backing her in the contest.

While her opponents have suggested she’s benefited from her last name, Adelita Grijalva said her experience and ties within the community make her more than qualified and that she’s formed her own coalition of supporters.

She also noted that 94 percent of her donors have never given to a Grijalva before. She urged voters to look at her track record, saying she has experience tackling the issues she talks about.

“When I say I am a proponent of preschool, it's not just saying that I'm going to do preschool. I actually created a whole system in Pima County, where every year $10 million is dedicated to free preschool,” she said, referring to the Pima Early Education Program Scholarships, which the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted for in 2021.

The primary has turned into a three-way race

Grijalva is facing her toughest challenges from Hernandez and Foxx, who are seen as the two other most competitive candidates. 

Hernandez is well-known for helping save former Rep. Gabby Giffords’s (D-Ariz.) life during the 2011 Tucson shooting when he was serving as an intern. However, Giffords is backing Grijalva in this Democratic primary. 

The former state lawmaker is not new to running for Congress. He ran for the Democratic nod in 2022 to go against Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) in Arizona’s 6th Congressional District, but he later lost to Democrat Kirsten Engel. Engel narrowly lost to Ciscomani that November. 

Hernandez has pointed to his record of working with Republicans in the state legislature, tackling issues like school funding and housing.

“The decision to run for this office was because we need somebody who understands how to hit the ground running in a Republican trifecta, and unfortunately, have done that at the Arizona state House, and I think it's good preparation for a very broken D.C.,” he told The Hill. 

Foxx is also running for the seat, highlighting how her lived experience being raised by a single mother who relied on Section 8 housing and Medicaid growing up makes her the best person to represent the district. 

“I might be 25, but I'm not new to this,” Foxx told The Hill, “and not only that, but I have a unique understanding of the implications of cuts to SNAP benefits or Medicaid, because I have lived those policies.”

Political newcomers Patrick Harris Sr. and Jose Malvido Jr. are also running in the race but are seen as long shots. 

In an interview with The Hill, Harris, said that he was running for the seat because “we really need to do something different here in America.”

“The Democratic Party doesn't really have a vision, and being anti-Trump isn't really a winning strategy,” he said.

Gen Z influencer Deja Foxx has gained some momentum

Foxx has gained some momentum late in the race, including receiving a late endorsement from David Hogg’s political group Leaders We Deserve. 

“In the last 90 days, we have raised over $900,000 from 28,000 people,” she said. “Ninety-nine percent of our donors are small-dollar donors. We not only have run this campaign in a way that nobody expected, but we have done it the right way.”

She has sought to define the race as one pitting the new guard against the old and has pointed out she’d be the youngest member of Congress if she’s elected to the seat. She’s acknowledged that Grijalva is the frontrunner in the race but has taken jabs at her implicitly, describing herself as “not born on a path to Congress.”

“I am the only change candidate, the only break from the status quo when it comes to the three of us. I'm not a career politician,” Foxx told The Hill.

Grijalva pushed back on some of Foxx’s assertions, saying “it's offensive because it completely discounts like volunteer service and being a part of your community.” 

Grijalva said the race is about experience and qualification.

“Respectfully, I think it's great to have more young voices. I absolutely do,” she told The Hill. “I just think they need to be qualified and have a perspective that brings that in other than ‘I'm young,’ because that doesn't tell me what your policies are or what you're going to work with.”

The primary will test Democrats’ enthusiasm

Observers will be watching the primary in part to gauge Democrats’ enthusiasm. Some local leaders have observed lower early voter turnout.

“Voter turnout is noticeably lower across Yuma County for a primary,” Xanthe Bullard, the chair of the Yuma County Democratic Party who is neutral in the race, told The Hill in an email on Sunday. 

“There are several contributing factors: the summer season typically sees many of our migrant field workers traveling to Salinas, and this being a special election, many voters weren’t expecting to receive election mail.”

The Arizona Democratic and GOP primaries for the special election are slightly earlier than usual — typically primaries for elections in Arizona take place in late July or early August.

While the House seat is reliably blue, the primary will offer tea leaves for the level of Democratic enthusiasm in an off-year election.

The winner will be the heavy favorite to take the seat

The 7th Congressional District went for former Vice President Harris by 22 points in November, according to The Downballot.

That means that whoever wins the Democratic contest on Tuesday is seen as the heavy favorite to win the special general election on Sept. 23. 

Eric Robbins, the chair of the Pima County Democratic Party, who is also neutral in the race, noted the sheer size of the district and that it represents an “amazingly broad range of communities across Arizona.” 

The district includes Latino, indigenous and working-class communities, among others. 

“This is the kind of race that proves grassroots power,” he said. “The legacy of Raúl Grijalva was as a unifier across many different communities, and he had to be because of the geographic realities I just described.”