Adelita Grijalva will win Tuesday’s special Democratic primary in Arizona’s 7th congressional district, CNN projects.
Grijalva, a former county supervisor, is the daughter of the late Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva, who represented the district for two decades before his death in March.
She’ll be favored to win the Sept. 23 general election in this heavily Democratic district against Daniel Butierez, who CNN projects will win the Republican primary
Grijalva defeated a field that included former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez and 25-year-old activist Deja Foxx.
Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, which includes parts of Tucson and most of the state’s southern border with Mexico, has been without representation since March, when Raul Grijalva died due to complications from cancer treatments. The late congressman and former Congressional Progressive Caucus chairman was first elected to the House in 2002.
Adelita Grijalva entered the race as the front-runner and garnered the lion’s share of endorsements in the contest, including support from both of Arizona’s US senators as well as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. She also benefited from her family’s longstanding recognition in the district, saying she would continue her father’s legacy.
Like her father, Grijalva served on the Tucson Unified School District governing board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors before running for Congress.
She pushed back on her opponents’ efforts to frame her as the establishment candidate, saying that she applied for and earned her endorsements from various groups and has her own record of advocacy work, including running diversion programs while working at Pima County’s Teen Court.
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