TUCSON – Side by side with her family, with tears streaming down her face, Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late Raúl Grijalva, accepted victory as the first Latina and Chicana congresswoman from Arizona.
She shouted three words to her ecstatic supporters at El Casino Ballroom – “Adelante mi gente!” They answered with three of their own: “Sí se puede!”
Grijalva, set to represent Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, won close to 70% of the vote Tuesday evening to secure her win over Republican candidate Daniel Butierez – affirming the district’s position as a Democratic stronghold.
When the final tally is done, election officials are expecting a turnout of more than 100,000 across four counties: Cochise, Pinal, Pima and Maricopa.
The special election was not just about filling a vacant seat, supporters said. Earlier this year, Grijalva’s father, Raúl, died of cancer, leaving his long-standing legacy as the 7th District’s representative in the balance. Just weeks after his death, his daughter and her community launched a campaign to continue it.
“More than 50 years ago, my dad started a movement. Fifty years later, that movement is alive and well in all of us,” Grijalva, 54, said. “And tonight, we broke the glass ceiling.”
Among the many supporters who showed up, young people – crucial to her campaign – stood on stage with her as she addressed her supporters. Grijalva’s three children each delivered a speech, with poise and a tone that mimicked their mother and grandfather.
“My mom taught me that leadership is about listening before acting and caring before judgement,” her son Raúl said.
Meanwhile, other young supporters, some who couldn’t even vote themselves, eagerly showed support for Grijalva.
“It gives me hope that I, one day, can lead a community like this and empower young women to do what they want to do,” Macy Sotomayor, 15.
Sotomayor and her friends were among many young people who volunteered for Grijalva’s campaign.
In her speech, the representative-elect said her team knocked on more than 51,000 doors and made more than 405,000 phone calls leading up to the election. Among those canvassers was Jose Romo, 21, who said he led the charge, knocking on the most doors across the district.
“The state of Arizona really needs a progressive Latina voice in Congress,” Romo said. “She’s walking into a different kind of Congress than her dad walked into.”
Just a few miles down the road, Butierez’s election night party was not quite as electric, but there was still a sense of accomplishment. Supporters welcomed him to the front of Brother John’s Beer, Bourbon & BBQ with applause as he scooped his grandson up to help him address them.
“I never wanted to be a politician,” Butierez said, “but I just look at my city, and I know I’m that guy that can fix it.”
His campaign, which he funded himself, focused heavily on curbing homelessness and fighting drug addiction.
Raoul Garza, 43, a small-business owner in Tucson, said he showed up to support Butierez for his character and relatability.
“He’s a strong man with a good heart,” Garza said. “Just as his truck gets a bunch of flat tires in the street, mine do too,”.
Despite coming up short Tuesday night, Butierez said he will remain dedicated to the district he ran to serve.
“I care about things that need someone to help them,” he said. “It’s why God put us on the Earth.”
Following Butieriez’s concession, Grijalva now has her sights on Capitol Hill. She said she wants to carry on her father’s progressive legacy but also create her own.
“A last name alone doesn’t earn you the trust from the community,” she said. “Service does.”
Her speech reflected the central issues in her campaign. She focused on her role in forcing the vote to release the Epstein files, protecting the environment, respecting tribal sovereignty, lowering costs for the working class and reversing cuts to social programs such as Medicaid and SNAP.
She won the Democratic nomination in July by defeating Gen Z organizer and influencer Deja Foxx, who ran on a platform of breaking machine politics and pushing an overtly progressive agenda. In a statement to Cronkite News after the election, Foxx congratulated Grijalva on the historic win but acknowledged the hostile environment she will be entering.
“It’s no secret that the fight ahead is a difficult one,” Foxx said. “Each and every one of our elected officials – especially those representing safer and bluer districts – have a responsibility to take risks to lead the charge in opposing and obstructing (Donald Trump’s) authoritarian agenda.”
As the night came to an end, Grijalva supporters flooded the floor dancing, hugging and celebrating before the long road ahead.
She concluded her speech with confidence: “You are sending a fighter, a guerrera, from Tucson’s South Side to D.C.”
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