Adelita Grijalva enters race for her late father’s Arizona congressional seat

PHOENIX – The daughter of late U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva wants to keep his southern Arizona congressional seat in the family.

On Monday, Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva announced her candidacy for the office that opened when her father died earlier this month.

“In Congress, I will work to create opportunities to help all our families achieve their American Dream — no matter who you are, where you come from or where you live,” Grijalva, a Democrat like her father, said in a press release.

Grijalva, whose campaign is chaired by Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, said she will resign from the Board of Supervisors in Arizona’s second most-populous county effective Friday.

I’m Adelita Grijalva and I am running for Congress because Arizona deserves a progressive champion that will stand up to Donald Trump and fight for working families.

Will you join me and become a Founding Donor? >>https://t.co/G4ubaVEHR0#AdelitaForCongress

— Adelita for Congress (@AdelitaForAZ) March 31, 2025

“She is the leader to meet this moment, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse her campaign to keep a progressive champion in Congress to represent southern Arizona,” Romero said in the release.

Adelita Grijalva has long career in public service

Before her election to the Pima County Board of Supervisors in 2020, Grijalva worked at Pima County Teen Court for over 25 years. In addition, she previously served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board.

Raúl Grijalva died at age 77 on March 13 from complications with his cancer treatment after serving southern Arizona in the U.S. House for more than 20 years.

The primary for the special election to complete Grijalva’s term, which runs through 2026, is set for July 15. The general election in the heavily Democratic 7th Congressional District will be held Sept. 23.

Who else is running in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District?

After Raúl Grijalva’s funeral Wednesday, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes ended widespread speculation by announcing he would not seek the open congressional seat.

Adelita Grijalva became the 28th person to file a statement of interest for the special primary election. As of Monday morning, the list of potential candidates included 14 Democrats, 10 Republicans, two Libertarians and one member each from the Green and No Labels parties.

A statement of interest isn’t an official entry into a race, but it’s a required step before a candidate can start collecting nomination petition signatures.

CD7 voters will find out who will be on the ballot after the April 14 deadline to turn in nominating petitions.

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