Daughter of late Dem congressman launches campaign for father’s seat: ‘Building something powerful’

The daughter of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., will run for her father’s seat in the upcoming special election for the solidly Democrat-leaning district.

Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva announced her campaign for Arizona’s Seventh Congressional District on Monday, making good on the promise to make her decision clear after her father’s funeral.

She noted in her launch video posted to X that she is the daughter of “a man who spent his life fighting for justice, equity, and dignity for the most vulnerable communities.”

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“From working as a vaquero to serving the people in the halls of Congress in a single generation. That’s the promise of this country, and that’s the legacy that’s helped shape me,” she added. “This is the America that I want to raise my three beautiful children in. But today, that idea of America is under a serious threat,” the Democrat added, saying that President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and a “gang of billionaires” are taking aim at the “most sacred rights” in the country.

Grijalva quickly reached the signature threshold necessary to make the Democratic primary ballot within the day. The primary election is on July 15, and the general election is on Sept. 23.

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“In less than five hours since launching our campaign, we have collected enough signatures to be on the ballot,” she said in a video shortly following her launch. For Democrats, a minimum of 798 verified signatures is required to make the ballot in the race and a maximum of 31,906 signatures, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

The Democratic congressman died last month after a battle with lung cancer. Grijalva will be facing off against former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, who recently touted over $200,000 in campaign coffers.

“WOW!!! We just hit $200,000 raised since we launched on Monday. I’m BLOWN AWAY by the support—and ready to get to work. We’re building something powerful in Arizona. Let’s keep it going!!!!!!!” Hernandez posted last week.

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Secretary of State Adrian Fontes was mulling a bid for the seat, but decided against it and expressed plans to run for re-election instead.

“I will continue to defend America as Arizona’s Secretary of State,” Fontes said in a statement on March 26.

The district itself spans much of the southern border of the Grand Canyon State.