Arizona Democrats have chosen Elita Grijalva, the daughter of the late Representative Raúl Grijalva, as their nominee to occupy his previous seat in an upcoming special election in September, as projected by The Associated Press.
Grijalva, who formerly served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, emerged victorious in Tuesday’s special Democratic primary. She competed against Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old activist, and former state representative Daniel Hernandez.
With more than two-thirds of the expected votes counted, Grijalva had 62% support, well ahead of Foxx at 20%.
The 54-year-old Grijalva garnered endorsements from a host of prominent Democratic leaders, including Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, as well as national progressive figures like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
Both Grijalva and Foxx described themselves as progressives, but fissures emerged during the campaign over the issue of generational change. Foxx took a swipe at Grijalva during a debate last month, saying she was not born “on a path” to Congress and has no “legacy last name.”
Foxx also won backing from former Democratic National Committee vice chair David Hogg’s PAC, Leaders We Deserve, which is aiming to back younger candidates in Democratic primaries this election cycle.
Grijalva said in an interview this month that experience should matter more than age.
“It’s frustrating to me how experience is being seen as a negative,” Grijalva told NBC News, adding: “I’m a little surprised that in a Democratic primary, in a party that really should be working to inform people and not spread misinformation — that was not something that I was prepared for.”
Speaking to supporters on election night, Grijalva said the campaign “was not about an individual, it was not about social media likes, it was about knocking on doors, face to face with community members having real conversations.” She soon added: “I am so thankful that my dad taught us all that this is how we do this work.”
Though Grijalva is older than Foxx, at 54, she will still be younger than more than half of her colleagues in the House if elected.
Before serving on the county board of supervisors, Grijalva was a longtime member of the Tucson school board and directed a nonprofit juvenile diversion program.
Raúl Grijalva won 12 terms representing the area in Congress before he died in March at the age of 77.
elita Grijalva will face Republican Daniel Butierez in the Sept. 23 special election. The district, which encompasses most of Tucson and the state’s southern border, is heavily Democratic, and former Vice President Kamala Harris carried it by 22 points in 2024, according to the NBC News Decision Desk.
