In Arizona's 7th Congressional District, Adelita Grijalva has won the Democratic special election primary , setting herself up to take the House seat that was left empty following the passing of her father, Rep. Raul Grijalva.
With 28,311 votes, or 62% of the total, Adelita Griljava defeated her closest rival, progressive activist Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old, who received 9,382 votes, or 20.6% of the vote. Daniel Hernandez came in third with 6,708 votes (14.7%). Then followed Patrick Harris and Jose Malvido totaling 728 and 498 votes.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, National Nurses United, the Working Families Party, Senator Bernie Sanders, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were among the prominent progressive figures who endorsed Grijalva's campaign.
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She has served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors, among other governmental boards.
"This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago," Grijalva declared following her win.
Deja Foxx had intended to base her campaign on younger leadership in Congress after gaining national recognition as a teenager for challenging former Republican Senator Jeff Flake on reproductive rights.
Her campaign's focus on creating "enthusiasm and excitement" during what she described as "one of our country's darkest moments" was unsuccessful in overriding Grijalva's institutional support, even with David Hogg's endorsement.
Housing affordability, supporting workers' rights to establish unions, and protecting Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security against Republican hits were the main focuses of Grijalva's platform.
"This campaign was about talking about the importance of giving voice to this community," she told supporters. "It was not about an individual. It was not about social media likes."
Given the strongly Democratic makeup of the 7th District and her 40-point margin of victory, Grijalva is almost certain to win the special general election scheduled for September 23.
"Thank you to the people of District 7! This movement doesn't end tonight. We're just getting started," Grijalva stated.
Standing "on the shoulders of giants" was acknowledged by the Democratic candidate, who also gave her father credit for showing "how you do this work" in the border district that runs from Tucson to Yuma.
