Voters in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District have a choice to make on Tuesday when they pick their party nominees to run to fill the seat vacated by the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva.
Democratic can choose from five candidates:
- Deja Foxx
- Adelita Grijalva
- Patrick Harris Sr.
- Daniel Hernandez
- Jose Malvido Jr.
Republicans can choose from three candidates:
- Daniel Butierez
- Jorge Rivas
- Jimmy Rodriguez
Early voting started June 18 and ended Friday.
For Democrats, the choice is between continuing the legacy of Raul Grijalva by passing the seat to his daughter, or turning a new leaf in the district. One frequent complaint about Grijalva is that he failed to deliver results for his district, whether measured in terms of jobs, or federal monies, or education support, or infrastructure. “For all of his seniority, Raul Grijalva was Arizona’s least effective member of Congress his district paid the price,” noted one voter. “So why would they vote for his daughter who will be more of the same, except without any of his seniority?”
The other major candidate is Daniel Hernandez, whose resume is as reliably liberal as Grijalva. The difference is that his record from the legislature included actual results. “Hernandez got things done for his district, even though Republicans controlled the Legislature, because he built relationships and did the hard work,” said the voter, who indicated she would be supporting Hernandez in the race.
Deja Foxx has gotten some attention for her young age and social media following, but she is not expected to compete for the top spot.
One GOP operative looking at the race gave the edge to Grijalva based entirely on her last name. “If her last name was anything else, she would lose, but she has his last name, he practically left her his seat in his will, and the Democratic establishment has lined up everyone from Kelly to Giffords and the rest to endorse her because she will be loyal in return to that establishment.” He added, “Remember, Daniel Hernandez was at Gabby Giffords’ side and literally saved her life after she was shot, and she still did the party establishment thing and endorsed Grijalva because the power brokers blessed her candidacy.”