For the first time in more than two decades, Arizona’s Congressional District 7 is an open race.
When U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva died on March 13, the lively Tucson statesman left behind a legacy — and the seat representing Southern Arizona. So far, more than two dozen potential candidates have filed statements of interest.
The primary election will be held July 15 and the general election on Sept. 23.
Grijalva, a Democrat, had represented District 7 since 2003. He was known as an advocate for progressive values and a defender of the environment and immigrants in Southern Arizona. He was diagnosed with cancer in April 2024 and missed dozens of votes in the subsequent months as he underwent treatment.
On March 31, his daughter Adelita Grijalva announced her candidacy. Within hours, she said she had already reached the threshold of signatures needed to get on the primary ballot.
A news release sent out the same morning she announced her candidacy called the number of signatures “a stunning show of momentum and grassroots support.” The number of signatures needed to get on the primary ballot as a Democratic candidate is 798.
Each party has a different number of signatures required for candidates’ names to appear on the primary ballot.
District 7 stretches along the U.S.-México border and includes parts of six counties: Pima, Santa Cruz, Yuma, Cochise, Maricopa and Pinal as well as four sovereign tribal nations: the Cocopah, Pascua Yaqui, Quechan, and Tohono O’odham. The district is 60% Hispanic.
As of January, 40% of voters in this district are registered Democrats, 37% are independents, 21% are Republicans and 2% belong to other political parties.
The deadline for candidates to enter the race is April 14.
The deadline to register to vote is June 16.
The Democrats
As of April 1, 14 Democrats had filed statements of interest. The biggest names running on the Democratic ticket are Adelita Grijalva and Daniel Hernandez.
Adelita Grijalva has served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors since 2020, representing District 5. She was the first Latina elected to that position, and was chair of the supervisors for two years, ending this January. Before that she served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board for 20 years.
She told Arizona Luminaria she hopes to focus on continuing to represent her father’s progressive values in Congress, with particular emphasis on education and immigration.
Daniel Hernandez is a former representative in the Arizona House, serving from 2017 to 2023. Hernandez first entered politics after surviving the mass shooting on Jan. 11 in Tucson while working for former representative Gabrielle Giffords.
On his campaign website, Hernandez says, “He’ll fight to protect our rights, lower costs for Arizona families, make housing more affordable, fund our public schools, and safeguard our elections.”
The other Democratic candidates are: Patrick Harris Sr., Deja Foxx and Jose Malvido.
While many speculated that Tucson Mayor Regina Romero would enter the race, shortly after Raúl Grijalva’s death she announced she would not be running. Romero will chair Adelita Grijalva’s campaign.
And while Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes also expressed initial interest, he announced last week that he would stay in his current role and not run for the congressional seat.
The Republicans
On the Republican side, 10 Republicans had filed statements of interest as of April 1, including Daniel Butierez, who ran against Raúl Grijalva in 2024.
Butierez is a Tucson native who, according to his campaign website, owns two small businesses in the area. He served ten years in prison for what he says is a wrongful conviction. His first policy priority is to “secure the southern border and fight to give the U.S. Border Patrol the resources they need to do their job.” He also wants to cut taxes and increase mining in Southern Arizona.
The other Republicans in the race are Jorge Rivas and Jimmy Rodriguez.
Alternative parties
Gary Swing and Eduardo Quintana are the Green party candidates.
Richard Grayson is running under the No Labels party.
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