Grijalva would be state\u2019s first Latina in Congress, and Republicans\u2019 House majority could shrink even further<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Adelita Grijalva, the daughter of the late progressive congressman Ra\u00fal Grijalva, won a special election on Tuesday to fill the seat left open when her father died earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Grijalva faced Republican challenger Daniel Butierez in the heavily blue seventh district in Arizona<\/a>, which covers the southern parts of the state and the borderland areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ra\u00fal Grijalva held the seat for more than two decades, until his death at 77 in March. His daughter will become the first Latina that Arizona has sent to Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filling the seat narrows Republicans\u2019 advantage in the House, where Trump\u2019s \u201cbig, beautiful bill\u201d passed by only one vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adelita Grijalva, a longtime local elected official in southern Arizona, fended off<\/a> Democratic challengers in a primary that attracted national attention<\/a> amid an ongoing debate over the future of the Democratic party, and in particular its ageing candidates, as Ra\u00fal Grijalva was one of multiple Democratic lawmakers to die in office this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The younger Grijalva, 54, faced criticisms from her main challenger, Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old influencer, over what Foxx called her \u201clegacy last name\u201d. Grijalva defended her own record in politics, but didn\u2019t shy away from her family\u2019s legacy in the district either. She served for 20 years on a Tucson school board and has been a Pima county supervisor since 2020. She also received endorsements from scores of heavyweight progressives and statewide elected officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not using my dad\u2019s last name,\u201d Grijalva told the Guardian earlier this year. \u201cIt\u2019s mine, too. I\u2019ve worked in this community for a very long time \u2013 26 years at a non-profit, 20 years on the school board, four years and four months on the board of supervisors. I\u2019ve earned my last name, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grijalva, a progressive, has said upholding democracy, standing up for immigrants\u2019 rights, and protecting access to Medicaid and Medicare are among her top priorities. She said during the primary that, if elected, she wants to push for Medicaid for All and the Green New Deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n