Half of the people vying for a seat in Congress in a special election don’t live in the Southern Arizona district they want to represent.
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.
Arizona Luminaria and Sunlight Research Center reviewed candidates’ addresses using public records: voter registration documents, candidate nomination paperwork, financial disclosure reports and property records.
The candidates who live outside the district are: Andy Fernandez, Richard Grayson, Patrick Harris Sr., Jorge Rivas, Jimmy Rodriguez and Gary Swing. Of the Republican candidates, only Daniel Butierez Sr. lives in the district.
What to know about the special election
This seat in Congress is open for the first time in more than two decades. U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a Democrat, had represented the area since 2003 before he died in March at age 77 from complications related to lung-cancer treatment. His daughter, Adelita Grijalva, is running as a Democrat.
It’s a crowded race, with five Democrats, three Republicans and four write-in candidates.
Early voting starts June 18 and the July 15 primary election will narrow the field. The winner of the Republican primary will face the winning Democrat in the special general election in September. The person elected will serve through 2026.
Living within the district boundaries is not a requirement to run for a U.S. House seat. The only requirements are to: be at least 25 years old, be a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state you want to represent at the time of the election (but not necessarily the specific district).
In the Federalist Papers, James Madison wrote: “Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to any particular profession of religious faith.”
“The founding fathers wanted this office to be the most accessible,” with as few constraints or hurdles as possible for someone to get into this office, said Thom Reilly, a professor at the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University.
Reilly is co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, which focuses on the issue of nonpartisan governance and asks the big question of why people are leaving the two-party system and not identifying as Republicans or Democrats.
In congressional districts, there tends to be one dominant political party, so people from other parties may run in a district where they have a better chance of winning, he said.
Some people may argue it gives voters more choice while others see it as opportunistic, Reilly said.
There are plenty of elected members of Congress who don’t live in the district they represent, including Rep. Eli Crane, a Republican who represents Arizona District 2 and lives in Oro Valley in District 6.
Ultimately it’s up to the voter to decide whether residency is an important issue that affects their choice, Reilly said. He added that it’s interesting to see how candidates can articulate their connections to the district to make them a good representative of that area’s residents.
Even then, he said, some people may view vying to represent a district you don’t live in as carpetbagging.
The candidates’ CD7 connections
Patrick Harris Sr., a Democrat, is running to represent Southern Arizona from his residence in Scottsdale, which is in District 1. He was registered as an independent voter until March.
He told Arizona Luminaria by email that he would move to District 7 if elected and that voters should select the best candidate for the role.
“Just like companies hire and relocate employees from one side of the country to another, AZ allows the voters to ‘hire’ the best candidate in the state for the Congressman ‘job.’ Is someone outside of CD7 expected to move into the district if they are elected? Yes, and I’ve looked at neighborhoods in CD7. However, I haven’t moved into the district because the voters haven’t offered me the ‘job’ yet,” he said, adding a wink emoji.
Jimmy Rodriguez, a Republican, lives in Peoria in District 8. He told Arizona Luminaria that he runs his vehicle performance and electronics business in Yuma and owns property there.
“I am rooted in the district’s communities,” he said.
“As an avid off-roader, I run Yuma’s dunes and CD7’s trails, connecting with residents across the district.”
He also said that, if elected, “I’ll establish a total of three fully staffed district offices in Yuma, Tucson, and the 3rd possibly in Avondale to ensure strong representation for CD7’s diverse needs.”
Richard Grayson is running as a No Labels write-in candidate and has previously been registered with the Green and Democratic parties. He lives in Apache Junction in District 5. On June 6, he told Arizona Luminaria, “I believe today was the first time I ever set foot in the district.” Grayson describes running for Congress as his hobby, and he has previously run in Arizona, Florida, Wyoming and Alaska.
“I believe my not living in any part of the district would be an advantage, as I would not favor any part of the district over another. Tucson, Tolleson, Yuma, Nogales — they’re all the same to me!” he said in an email.
Jorge Rivas, a Republican, lives in Tucson but in District 6, which is represented by Republican Juan Ciscomani. While Rivas reports a mobile home address in District 7 on his nomination paperwork, his business and other residential properties are in District 6. He did not respond to requests for comment.
Gary Swing, also running as a write-in candidate for the Green Party, lives in Tucson but in District 6. “My Tucson residence is three and a half blocks east of CD7, so I spend substantial time in the district,” he told Arizona Luminaria in an email.
Swing supports proportional representation, a system by which each party wins seats in proportion to their share of the vote.
“Under the existing election system, most single member districts are heavily dominated by one party. Given the demographics of CD7 under its current boundaries, the district will always elect a Democrat. Candidates from other parties are token opposition,” Swing said. “The election system used in the US denies voters an effective ballot and meaningful choices. Proportional representation would provide fair representation for everyone.”
Swing registered to vote as a Green Party member in March after canceling his voter registration in 2018.
Write-in candidate Andy Fernandez, a Libertarian, also lives in Tucson but in District 6. He declined to comment for this article.
Some of the candidates have lived most of their lives within the bounds of District 7.
Daniel Butierez Sr., a Republican, and Democrats Deja Foxx, Adelita Grijalva and Daniel Hernandez all said they were born and raised in the district they’re seeking to represent.
Butierez said: “I was born in this district and most of my very large Hispanic family lives here in the district. My companies are in CD7 and I’ve employed hundreds of people that live here in CD7. I am the only Republican with a connection to CD7.”
Foxx said: “I was born and raised by a single mom in Tucson. When I was forced to move out at 15 because of her struggles with addiction, I moved to South Tucson, in the heart of AZ-07. I lived there with my boyfriend at the time and his family, two incredible Mexican immigrants who treated me like their own, until moving away for college. As a first generation college student, I received a degree from Columbia University in NYC, but maintained residence in AZ-07 for the duration of my studies. After graduation, I returned home to Tucson and became a first time homeowner right here in our district — the first in my family to achieve that milestone.”
Grijalva said: “I have lived in CD7 my entire life attending my neighborhood schools and the University of Arizona. My children attend public schools in CD7 and we are a part of this community. I know the wants and needs of this community, because I was born, raised and live my life here.”
Hernandez said: “I was born and raised in Tucson, went to Sunnyside and the University of Arizona, and currently live in Tucson. My mother immigrated from Mexico and my father worked in construction. As a teenager, Medicaid provided me the access to healthcare needed to save my life. It was also in Tucson that I provided critical first aid to Congresswoman Gabby Giffords after she was shot. These experiences shaped my advocacy, my decision to serve on the Sunnyside School Board and serve Tucson in the state legislature, and my commitment to fighting for Southern Arizona.”
Eduardo Quintana, who is running as a write-in candidate for the Green Party, also lives in District 7. He said that he moved to Tucson in the early 80s, when he started working at the aircraft company which would later become Raytheon. “I was a union steward, and eventually president of the union,” Quintana wrote to Arizona Luminaria in an email.
“I alerted our members to the hazards from exposure to many of the chemicals that we were surrounded by,” he wrote. “I made sure the contract between the company and the union was respected.” After about 33 years, he retired from Raytheon and founded Tucsonans for a Clean Environment, a neighborhood group to address contamination of the aquifer from chemicals used by Raytheon and the Tucson International Airport.
He said he also started the Tucson Union Support Committee to build solidarity with the Phelps Dodge copper strikers, among other activist efforts.
He added that he and his wife raised three kids in Tucson, all of whom attended TUSD schools.
Democrat Jose Malvido Jr. also lives within the district but did not respond to requests for comment for this article.
Credits
Sunlight Research Center’s Audrey Nielsen provided research and data analysis.
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