Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona Democratic primary for House seat
Raúl Grijalva, a longtime congressman in southern Arizona, died from cancer earlier this year and left a vacancy in the state's seventh district. The younger Grijalva, a 54-year-old who served for 20 years on a Tucson school board, has been a Pima county supervisor since 2020.
Grijalva, a progressive, has said upholding democracy, standing up for immigrant rights and protecting access to Medicaid and Medicare are among her top priorities.
'This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago,' Grijalva said in a statement.
She faced an insurgent challenger in Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer and activist whose campaign focused on her personal story of using the kinds of government programs the Trump administration has attacked. Foxx also called out Grijalva for her 'legacy last name' and said political roles shouldn't be inherited.
'I'm not using my dad's last name,' Adelita Grijalva previously told the Guardian. 'It's mine, too. I've worked in this community for a very long time – 26 years at a nonprofit, 20 years on the school board, four years and four months on the board of supervisors. I've earned my last name too.'
Grijalva won easily. She led her next closest rival, Foxx, by about 40 percentage points when the Associated Press declared her the winner. She had a large lead in all seven counties that are all or partially in the district, including the most populous, Pima County, which includes Tucson and its western suburbs.
Grijalva also racked up a lengthy list of heavyweight endorsements – including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Bernie Sanders and several state and local officials.
The district, which includes parts of Tucson and Arizona's borderlands, is strongly blue, meaning the winner of the primary is the likely victor of the general. But three Republicans ran in their party's primary; Daniel Butierez will face Adelita Grijalva in the general on 23 September.
National Democratic infighting brought extra attention to the race, with Foxx bringing up questions of seniority and nepotism. Raúl Grijalva was one of three Democratic lawmakers to die in office this year. Foxx received backing from Leaders We Deserve, David Hogg's Pac, which is challenging incumbents in Democratic primaries as it seeks to remake the party.
The seat will not decide control of the US House, but it is one of three vacancies in heavily Democratic districts that, when filled in special elections this fall, will probably chip away at Republicans' slender 220-212 majority in the chamber.
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The Guardian
12 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Tuesday briefing: What the fraught talks to reach a ‘Paris agreement for plastic pollution' could bring
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The latter group want the agreement to focus on better management and recycling of waste, and for countries to implement voluntary or national measures. 'Countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China have moved the discussion away from production towards, 'Oh we just need to manage the waste better, oh we just need to recycle more',' says Sandra. Since 2022, these divisions have become more entrenched. Countries such as Egypt and Malaysia have plastic industry representatives in their national delegations. Meanwhile, the 100 high-ambition countries are not going to fold – the evidence shows we have to reduce plastic production to reduce pollution. 'That's why it all collapsed in Busan in December,' says Sandra. The nature of any agreement is still up the air – it's possible a meaningful treaty will be agreed, or they have further meetings, or some countries agree to pursue a 'coalition of the willing' treaty outside the UN. Greenpeace is calling for at least a 75% reduction in plastic production by 2040. But if an agreement can be reached, it would be the equivalent of getting the Paris agreement for climate negotiations. 'You can argue the Paris agreement hasn't done much, but there has been an agreement, and we just haven't had one on plastic pollution. So this is the kind of vacuum that needs to be filled,' says Sandra. What does this say about international environmental diplomacy? 'I think there was this real optimism in 2022 when the idea of a treaty was agreed,' says Sandra. Scientists were saying that getting a good agreement could be a gamechanger for cutting plastic pollution. But the winds appear to have changed. 'By last November that optimism had all gone.' 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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Texas governor threatens arrest of Democrats absent at Monday redistricting vote
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The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Trump news at a glance: political battle in Texas escalates and president under fire for firing labor statistics chief
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