Southern Arizona voters to decide Grijalva’s successor in US House race

Southern Arizona voters will decide who fills the final 15 months of the late U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva's term in the 7th Congressional District after his death in March. Grijalva's death opened vacancies in three safely Democratic districts; one has since been filled, while another in Texas remains to be filled and a vacancy in a heavily Republican Tennessee district will be filled following a December election.

The 7th District includes parts of Tucson and covers a large stretch of the state’s border with Mexico, factors that have long driven national attention to the race and immigration policy in the region. Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat, is facing Republican Daniel Butierez, a business owner, to fill the final 15 months of the late congressman's term. Two third-party candidates are also on the ballot.

Grijalva has long been a household name in Tucson, but Adelita Grijalva has emphasized that she stands on her own record. The Democrat has the endorsements of fellow progressives U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Grijalva sailed to victory in the Democratic primary with more than 60% of the vote, defeating a slate that included a former state lawmaker and a Gen Z digital strategist. Likewise, Butierez won the GOP primary by large margins. He previously challenged Raúl Grijalva for the seat in 2024 and garnered more than one-third of the vote that year.

Immigration and border security have been central issues in the race. Adelita Grijalva has said she would advocate for legislation that creates pathways to citizenship for recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and other migrants. She also would prohibit immigration enforcement operations at schools, churches and medical facilities. Butierez has stated that immigration agents are enforcing the laws and that he supports deporting those who entered illegally during the Biden administration.

Democrats hold a nearly two-to-one registration edge over Republicans in the district, which covers parts of Tucson and a majority of the state’s border with Mexico. Most of the 7th District has been represented by Democrats since Arizona statehood in 1912, underscoring the district's political alignment even as voters consider a candidate who would succeed a longtime progressive figure.

The outcome will determine who finishes Grijalva's term and could influence how the district is represented in Congress over the remaining months of the term.