Democratic Candidates Vie to Fill Seat in Deep-Blue Arizona District—What to Know

Three progressives lead the race to fill late Rep. Raúl Grijalva’s seat. His daughter, the front runner, is losing ground to a 25-year-old abortion activist.

From left to right, Deja Foxx, Adelita Grijalva, Patrick Harris Sr., Daniel Hernandez Jr. and Jose Malvido Jr. during the Democratic primary debate inside the Arizona Public Media studio in Tucson, Ariz., on June 10, 2025. Mamta Popat/Arizona Daily Star via AP

A handful of Democratic candidates are looking to win a special election in a congressional district along the U.S. border with Mexico to succeed the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.).

The 7th Congressional District will hold special primary elections on July 15, with winners facing off in the general election on Sept. 23. Given that the district is heavily Democratic, the winner of the primary contest will be favored to win the general election on Sept. 23.

Grijalva served in the seat for 22 years and was, at one point, chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, giving the district a legacy of progressive politics.

His 54-year-old daughter is the leading candidate in the primary, but a 25-year-old abortion activist is rapidly gaining ground against her. The generational and ideological divides between the two candidates reflect a broader debate within the Democratic Party. Three other minor candidates are running, though their chances of winning are low.

Below, we describe the leading Democratic candidates in this race.

Adelita Grijalva

Shortly after she announced her candidacy, Adelita Grijalva was identified as the clear favorite in the race. Arizona’s U.S. senators, both Democrats—senior Sen. Mark Kelly and junior Sen. Ruben Gallego—endorsed her, as did Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a national leader of progressive voters. Among members of the House, she has also been endorsed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), the latter of whom survived being shot in the head in 2011 and remains popular in Arizona.

Adelita Grijalva is not a political novice. In 2002, the year her father was elected to Congress, she was elected to the Tucson Unified District School Board, where she served for 20 years. In 2021, she joined the Pima County Board of Supervisors, where her father also served, leaving this year to run for Congress.

Predictably, Adelita Grijalva is running on her father’s legacy and against President Donald Trump’s policies. She identifies as a progressive in her support of policies such as a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, transgender rights, environmental protection, and tribal sovereignty. Her record as a school board member during COVID-19 has drawn fire; she responded to criticism from one of her opponents on the issue of pandemic school closures in a video posted to social media platform X on July 3.

A recent poll from Change Research showed Adelita Grijalva as having 43 percent support among likely voters.

Deja Foxx

Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer and pro-abortion activist, has seen a rapid rise in the polls in recent weeks. She is backed by David Hogg’s Political Action Committee, Leaders We Deserve, and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’s political arm.

Between May and June, support for Foxx jumped 25 percentage points and is currently at 35 percent, just eight percentage points behind Adelita Grijalva. That same poll also shows that 11 percent of voters remain undecided.

“If [Foxx] can win them by a small percent in the closing days of the campaign, she wins the Democratic nomination,” the pollsters noted.

Foxx gained prominence in 2017 for her open confrontation with then-Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) at a town hall meeting in Mesa, Arizona, at which she criticized him for his views on funding for abortion. She runs a social media community called the “GenZ Girl Gang“ for young ”womxn and femme” progressive activists. She spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2024.

Foxx, as a progressive, is running on many of the same issues as Adelita Grijalva, with some different emphases. At the top of her campaign website, Foxx lists the “affordability crisis” as the leading issue, invoking her upbringing as a resident of “Section 8” low-income housing. Her emphasis on affordability and progressive politics mirrors that of Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City in the 2025 election, who on June 24 won an upset primary victory against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.).

“We need to pass the Raise the Wage Act to raise the federal minimum wage to $17/hr and eliminate the tipped minimum wage, while empowering labor and implementing tax reforms that ensure the wealthy pay their fair share,” Foxx states on her website.

Daniel Hernández Jr.

Hernández is a former Arizona state representative from Maricopa County, which encompasses Phoenix, and served from 2017 to 2023. Until May, Hernández was the second-ranked candidate in the polls with 16 percent support. However, recently, his standing has declined to 9 percent, suggesting that Foxx has gained popularity at his expense.

Hernández, like Grijalva and Foxx, is also a progressive. He has differentiated himself by his strong support for Israel during its ongoing military engagements. This support has earned him the endorsement of Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.), one of the most pro-Israel progressive politicians in the Democratic Party.

On the cost of living, which is the top common theme for the candidates, Hernández has claimed that the Trump administration’s tariffs are the source of the problem and is campaigning against them.

“I'll stand up to the out-of-touch politicians ... [by] repealing Trump’s tariffs on everyday goods, increasing the child tax credit, and investing in affordable housing,” he says on his website.

Adelita Grijalva’s and Foxx’s campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times. Hernández could not be reached for comment.