Latest news with #Grijalva
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arizona Democratic race for House seat highlights party's internal debate – and previews the midterms
A gen Z influencer, a former state lawmaker and the daughter of a former representative are facing off in a special Democratic primary in Arizona on Tuesday that showcases the party's internal debate in the run-up to the midterm elections. Longtime Arizona representative and progressive stalwart Raúl Grijalva died in office from complications of lung cancer treatment in March at age 77, leaving open a seat representing southern Arizona and its borderlands. His daughter, Adelita Grijalva, herself a longtime elected official in southern Arizona, is the frontrunner in the race and has a laundry list of endorsements. But Deja Foxx, a 25-year-old who's made her name in viral moments standing up to politicians and who would become the youngest member of Congress, is surging in recent polls. Daniel Hernandez, a former state lawmaker who was at the 2011 shooting of then representative Gabby Giffords, is also pulling in significant support. Related: Redrawing Texas: the Republican plan to stack the decks for the midterms 'It's a fascinating encapsulation of the different factions and factors that will define all Democratic primaries in 2026,' said Arizona progressive lobbyist Gaelle Esposito. 'Adelita represents the progressive wing, Deja's the blank-slate outsider, Daniel has that big donor lane locked down. Do people want a progressive leader, do they just want to shake up the system or do they want someone who knows how to navigate the DC backrooms?' The district is solidly blue, meaning that whoever wins the Democratic primary is the likely victor in the general election. National Democratic infighting has brought extra attention to the race, as the left wrangles over how to fight Donald Trump and win back voters while the Democratic party brand is flagging. It's also the first time this seat has been open in more than two decades. Questions over seniority and age in the party have loomed over the race – three Democrats died in office this year, and Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' passed by only one vote. Grijalva's opponents have attacked her 'legacy' last name. 'The thing that I need to push back on is this idea that the three members of Congress died because of age,' Grijalva, 54, said. 'They died because of cancer. My dad lived in a Superfund site and drank poison water for two decades.' After Zohran Mamdani's upset win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, Democrats are looking across the country at how candidates who buck the status quo, and who communicate well to voters and on social media, will fare. Leaders We Deserve, David Hogg's Pac, endorsed Foxx in the race, saying 'she has translated her story to represent a new vision of generational change that speaks truth to Trump's cruel policies'. His group is spending in Democratic primaries in safe blue districts to support younger progressive candidates and drive out Democrats who are 'asleep at the wheel'. The candidates say voters are concerned about immigration, deportations and detentions – the district contains three major ports of entry on the US-Mexico border. The economy looms large, especially with Trump's new bill that could devastate rural areas in particular, as does the dismantling of democracy. But the race hasn't dwelled much on the issues; instead it's zoomed in on an old-versus-new, established-versus-insurgent dynamic that's played out across the country and will mark the midterms. The candidates Foxx, a gen Z Filipino American from Tucson, got her start fighting for better sex education in Tucson schools. She has nearly 400,000 followers on TikTok and more than 240,000 on Instagram and has created viral political moments since she was a teenager. When she was 16, she pointedly confronted then US senator Jeff Flake at a town hall over defunding Planned Parenthood, calling him a 'middle-aged man' who '[came] from privilege'. In the decade since, she has worked on political advocacy, including on Kamala Harris's 2020 campaign. She attended the Democratic national convention in 2024 as a content creator. Her personal story plays heavily into her campaign: her family relied on food stamps, Medicaid and section 8 housing, all targets for Republican budget-cutting. She experienced homelessness as a teenager. She has worked a 'normal-person job' and cleaned toilets at a gas station for $10 an hour. 'People are ready to question a political system that prioritizes legacy last names or big-dollar donors, and they're looking for a candidate who reflects back their lived experiences,' Foxx said. When she filed paperwork to run in the special election in April, she was alone in her bedroom – and she said she did it wrong. She, like other young candidates jumping into primaries across the country, is showing her followers how you run for office in real time. 'I am the only break from the status quo, the only change candidate that represents a difference in the tactics it's going to take to stand up to this administration,' she said. 'I would ask people to just imagine what we could do from the House floor. It's going to take messengers like me who know how to reach the people we are losing.' Hernandez, who served three terms in the state legislature, has touted his ability to work with Republicans to pass legislation. He ran in a nearby congressional district in 2022, losing in the Democratic primary. He said voters have told him they've been without a voice in Congress since early 2024, when Raúl Grijalva got sick. They're worried about losing access to Medicare, Medicaid and social security, and they want representation. 'I'm the only one that actually has experience delivering results in a Republican environment,' he said. 'That's something that is really important right now, given the very broken and very divided Congress that we're in.' Adelita Grijalva boasts a stack of endorsements from across the Democratic spectrum, including Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Arizona's two US senators, Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly. She has a long résumé in local politics, serving on the Tucson unified school district governing board for 20 years and the Pima county board of supervisors since 2020. She hasn't shied away from her father's legacy. Her first campaign video leans into it. 'When you grow up Grijalva, you learn how to fight and who you're fighting for,' she says. 'I know how to fight and win because I learned from the best.' She said she learned from her dad the importance of doing your homework and to not take politics personally – a lesson she admittedly has struggled with, especially in this race. 'I anticipated low blows. I didn't anticipate, like, six feet under,' she said. Foxx has called out Grijalva for having a 'legacy last name' and inheriting her father's donor and mailing lists. But, Grijalva notes, her dad was 'not a prolific fundraiser'. He raised enough to hire staff and buy food, but wasn't sending money back to the party. She said 94% of the people who donated to her primary campaign haven't given to a Grijalva before. 'I'm not using my dad's last name,' she said. 'It's mine, too. I've worked in this community for a very long time – 26 years at a non-profit, 20 years on the school board, four years and four months on the board of supervisors. I've earned my last name, too.' While she's been attacked as an establishment candidate, her record – and her father's – are strongly progressive. If elected, she wants to push for Medicaid for all and the Green New Deal. But the race has focused mostly on identity, with attempts to discredit her contributions to the community. 'Establishment' and 'Grijalva' have previously not really been used in the same sentences, she said, until the last month. 'I wonder if my dad were an older white man and I were a junior, if I would be getting the same kind of criticism that I'm getting now,' she said. 'And I don't think I would.'
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona Democratic primary for House seat
Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic House primary in Arizona to succeed her father, beating a young social media activist in a closely watched election seen as a test of the party's generational divide. 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. Related: Arizona Democratic race for House seat highlights party's internal debate – and previews the midterms 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. Solve the daily Crossword
Politico
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Another win for legacy politics
Presented by FAMILY AFFAIR — Arizona is about to get a new congresswoman: Adelita Grijalva won decisively in a special Democratic primary Tuesday, which makes it all but certain she'll win the state's heavily Democratic 7th District in the September general election. The backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez boosted her progressive credentials. Her experience as a former county supervisor also helped her cause. But perhaps most important, name recognition mattered: She shared the last name of her father, Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, who held the seat for over 20 years before passing away in March due to cancer. It was enough to overcome four other candidates, and the generational arguments made by her closest rival, Deja Foxx, who was half Grijalva's age. It also served as a reminder that even as voters increasingly demand a change from the status quo, they aren't willing to completely reject dynastic politics yet — particularly in the Democratic Party. Grijalva's opponents bet that the anger roiling the Democratic grassroots — and the deep frustration toward the party establishment — would be enough to overcome the Grijalva legacy. Foxx, a 25-year-old activist and content creator, presented herself as the option for generational change and was backed by David Hogg, the youthful gun control activist who has rattled the party with his calls for primary challenges to 'asleep at the wheel' veteran incumbents in safe Democratic districts. Former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, 35, also emphasized that voters wanted 'a new type of leadership.' These attacks, however, failed to stick: Ultimately, Grijalva won over 60 percent of the vote, while Foxx and Hernández trailed far behind at 21 percent and 14 percent, respectively. Both parties have a soft spot for legacy candidates, but the issue of introducing new blood into the party is especially pressing for Democrats. They are coming off a demoralizing presidential defeat shaped by the ouster of 82-year-old President Joe Biden as the party nominee over concerns about his advanced age. Party leadership is fielding intense pushback for the lack of generational change: A majority of the House members over the age of 70 are Democrats; more than half of the House Democrats over the age of 75 plan to run again in 2026. Every sitting member of Congress who has died since November 2022 has been a Democrat. For younger Democrats who are desperate to rid the party of the old guard, swapping an elderly lawmaker with a younger family member isn't the change they seek — it's simply perpetuating a status quo that has left Republicans in control of every branch of government in Washington. The list of current Democratic members of Congress with a familial connection, or who 'inherited' seats previously held by their relatives, is extensive. There's Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who in 2015 succeeded her husband, Rep. John Dingell, who had succeeded his own father in 1955. When Indiana Rep. Julia Carson's death triggered a special election in 2008, her grandson André Carson won and has been serving ever since. Rep. Doris Matsui ran and won her husband's seat in California's 7th congressional district after he passed away in 2005. Another member of the California delegation, Rep. Jimmy Panetta, serves a district his father once held for over 15 years. Before his federal indictment tainted the family name, Sen. Bob Menendez's connections helped his son win a House seat in New Jersey, where he joined Rep. Donald Payne Jr. — who had captured the Newark-based seat held by his own father until his 2012 death. The younger Payne then held the seat until his own death in 2024, ending close to 40 years of family control of the district. The attempts to keep power in the family don't always work — and are increasingly frowned upon: New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy's attempt to install his wife, Tammy Murphy, as senator was widely criticized and helped rally organizers to coalesce around then-Rep. Andy Kim, who beat New Jersey's political machine and won the seat. In Arizona, the forces of generational change helped power Foxx's special election campaign. Foxx, who had been engaging with younger voters on social media platforms and leaning into Gen Z trends, sought to tap into youth disillusionment with the current system: Gen Zers have the lowest levels of pride for America, trust in federal institutions are declining, and only 15 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, according to a Harvard Youth poll. Although she was criticized for having no experience in holding office, to some of her supporters that was an asset: It meant she wasn't implicated in a system they distrusted. But her generational change platform fell short because it represented the entirety of her message. Although she presented herself as an advocate for reproductive rights, the campaign's key messaging focused on Foxx potentially becoming one of the youngest members of Congress and prompting party change. Foxx's youth and digital media savvy drew comparisons to Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist who defeated political scion and former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in June's New York City mayoral primary. But there were several important differences. Mamdani focused on laying out specific policies — like freezing the rent and free buses — in addition to communicating his change message. He also had the benefit of a sharp ideological contrast with Cuomo, his main rival and a veteran pol who was saddled with immense baggage. In ideological terms, there wasn't a tremendous amount of difference between Foxx and Grijalva. It's a lesson for the Gen Z candidates looking to jump into primaries for the midterm elections: Stumping on generational change isn't nearly enough to win, let alone topple political dynasties. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@ Or contact tonight's author at ckim@ or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @ck_525. What'd I Miss? — Trump tells those focused on Epstein he doesn't want their support: President Donald Trump today trashed many MAGA members, condemning their ongoing push for files related to Jeffrey Epstein and bemoaning that they are playing into Democrats' hands. The Democrats' 'new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump posted on his Truth Social account. 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' — Vance offers a preview of how GOP will message the Big Beautiful Bill: President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill' is all about supporting the children — American children. That was Vice President JD Vance's message today as he rallied at a family-owned machine shop in this purple Pennsylvania manufacturing town, kicking off what is expected to be a summer of intense Republican efforts to sell the party's domestic legislation ahead of the midterms. 'We couldn't get a single Democrat to vote for $1,000 for every newborn baby in the United States of America,' Vance said, referring to a provision in the law that establishes 'Trump Accounts' for babies with Social Security numbers born between 2025 and 2028. 'I realized the problem: If we had made that $1,000 accessible not to newborn American babies but to illegal aliens, I think we could have got the Democrats' vote.' — Democrats sue Trump over canceled disaster grant program: A group of 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a new lawsuit against the Trump administration this morning, aiming to restore a canceled grant program that helped states protect against potential disaster damage. The lawsuit says the administration in April illegally ended a multibillion-dollar Federal Emergency Management Agency program that was established under a 2018 law signed by President Donald Trump. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, also asks the court to declare that FEMA's current leader 'is acting as FEMA administrator unlawfully.' — Crypto bills stall again on House floor: More cryptocurrency drama is unfolding on the House floor today, a day after conservative hard-liners foiled GOP leaders' plans to advance a trio of regulatory bills. The hard-liners climbed back aboard following a Tuesday night meeting with President Donald Trump and a last-minute negotiation today with House leaders that allowed the chamber to take an initial procedural step on the legislation. But the deal they cut — to merge the market-structure-focused CLARITY Act with a separate bill banning a central bank digital currency — has sparked backlash from members of the committees that crafted the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson is now huddling with members of the Financial Services and Agriculture panels, as well as the conservative holdouts, in Johnson's ceremonial office off the House floor as a vote on the rule setting up debate on the legislation remains open. — Trump keeps everyone guessing on Powell's fate: President Donald Trump did not rule out trying to remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has lambasted for keeping interest rates high, but said it was 'highly unlikely' that he would do so. Trump's comment today gave the financial markets whiplash, coming after he surveyed a group of hard-line House Republicans in the Oval Office Tuesday night — who all want Powell ousted — on whether he should fire the central bank chief, according to two people with direct knowledge of the meeting. The president was also working to assuage the rebels' concerns about a central bank digital currency before a key vote. AROUND THE WORLD CEASEFIRE (FOR NOW) — Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire today after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel, The Associated Press reports. It was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement. Israeli strikes continued after the ceasefire announcement. The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push Islamic militants away from its border. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel as well as in Syria and are seen in Israel as a loyal minority, often serving in the military. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze. BUDGET NUMBER — The European Commission has proposed a central EU budget of €1.816 trillion for the seven-year period from 2028 after days of fraught internal negotiations. That figure would represent an increase in the European Union's spending power compared with the current budget that has run from 2021. Members of the Commission, led by President Ursula von der Leyen, finally settled on this number today, meaning that total spending would rise to 1.15 percent of the EU's gross national income, compared with around 1.1 percent over the current period. 'It is a budget that matches Europe's ambition, that confronts Europe's challenges and that strengthens our independence,' von der Leyen told reporters. 'The budget is larger, it is smarter, and it is sharper.' Nightly Number RADAR SWEEP THE PYRAMIDS OF SCOTLAND — In the middle of Scotland, there are 11 giant pyramids. Strewn around the landscape of Balmoral Castle, beloved by Queen Victoria of England, the monuments look like they'd be right at home in Egypt. But the structures are monuments to grief, love and nation building unconnected to Egypt. The estate's largest pyramid, made of granite, came after the death of Prince Albert in 1861 — it's now dubbed the 'Great Pyramid of Scotland.' Other structures commemorate the death of other royals. For the BBC, Mike MacEachern traveled to the estate and wrote about the experience. Parting Image Did someone forward this email to you? Sign up here.
Time of India
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Massive victory: Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona's 7th District race; set to face Republican Daniel Butierez in Sept elections
Adelita Grijalva (AP image) Adelita Grijalva has won the election in Arizona 's 7th Congressional District, defeating 25-year-old activist and social media influencer Deja Foxx. The seat became vacant after the death of longtime Congressman Raúl Grijalva earlier this year following cancer treatment. Adelita Grijalva, 54, is his daughter and has a long history in local politics. She served for two decades on the Tucson school board and has been a Pima County Supervisor since 2020. Grijalva describes herself as a progressive and has said her priorities include defending democracy, supporting immigrant rights and protecting access to Medicaid and Medicare. After her win, she said in a statement: '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 faced strong competition from Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer and activist. Foxx argued that political roles should not be inherited, targeting Grijalva for her 'legacy last name'. In response, Grijalva defended her record, saying: 'I'm not using my dad's last name. 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,' as reported by the Guardian. Grijalva won by a large margin, leading Foxx by around 40 percentage points, as reported by AP. She secured strong leads in all seven counties in the district, including Pima County, which includes Tucson and its suburbs. She also received major endorsements from prominent progressives, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, as well as local and state officials. Arizona's 7th District is heavily Democratic, making Grijalva a favourable candidate to win the general election on September 23. She will face Republican candidate Daniel Butierez.
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Adelita Grijalva wins Arizona Democratic primary for House seat
Adelita Grijalva won the Democratic House primary in Arizona to succeed her father, beating a young social media activist in a closely watched election seen as a test of the party's generational divide. 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.
