Progressive Adelita Grijalva Will Follow Her Father Into Congress

Adelita Grijalva, a former local elected official, will follow in her father’s footsteps, representing a congressional district in southern Arizona after fending off a challenge built around generational change and dominating a Democratic primary in a special election on Tuesday night.

Adelita Grijalva is the daughter of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, a progressive icon whose death from cancer in March kicked off the special election in Arizona’s 7th District. She defeated Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old influencer and activist, and Daniel Hernandez, a 35-year-old former state lawmaker. Early returns as of midnight eastern on Tuesday had her winning more than 60% of the vote.

Grijalva had the backing of almost the entire Democratic political establishment, despite her father’s progressive track record and willingness to occasionally stick his thumb in the establishment’s eye. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) endorsed her, as did Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

There were few ideological differences between Grijalva and Foxx, with both women supporting Medicare for All among a host of other progressive priorities. Instead, the two differed over how best to counter President Donald Trump, with Grijalva arguing for traditional coalition-building and Foxx focused on using media attention and bold actions to counter the president’s media dominance.

Hernandez ran a slightly more moderate campaign, though shared many of Foxx’s calls for generational change.

Grijalva’s blowout victory is a blow to the Democratic party’s youth insurgency, which had been riding high since Zohran Mamdani’s shock victory over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the city’s mayoral primary last month. But Grijalva, with a progressive record and a scandal-free past, proved a much stiffer opponent than Cuomo. Leaders We Believe, the David Hogg-led group backing youth candidates, was one of the few Democratic groups to back Foxx.

The Democratic primary is effectively equivalent to the general election in this bright blue seat, though Grijalva will need to win the general election in September before being sworn in. Grijalva will be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress.