The special election on Tuesday in Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, held to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva, is expected to slightly narrow the GOP’s slim majority in the U.S. House.
Democrats hold a nearly two-to-one voter registration advantage over Republicans in this left-leaning district, which stretches from Yuma to Tucson and covers nearly the entire length of Arizona’s border with Mexico.
Democratic Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late congressman, faces small business owner and contractor Daniel Butierez, the Republican nominee, along with two third-party candidates on the ballot.
“In Congress, I commit to fight Trump’s cruel agenda, like the Big Ugly Bill that took away coverage from nearly 383,000 Arizonans and 142,000 children,” Grijalva wrote on social media, taking aim at President Donald Trump, congressional Republicans, and their sweeping domestic policy measure.
Butierez has positioned himself as a change candidate in a district that has been under Democratic control since its creation more than 20 years ago.
“This is your chance to actually get a Representative who will represent everyone. If you vote we win, if you don’t only the radicals will have representation,” he posted on X.
The winner of the special election will serve out the remaining 15 months of the term of the late Rep. Grijalva, who passed away in March due to complications from cancer treatment.
Republicans currently hold a 219-213 edge in the House, with three seats vacant.
In addition to Arizona’s 7th Congressional District, Texas’ 18th Congressional District remains vacant following the March death of Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner. That special election is scheduled for November 4, 2025. Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, a Republican-leaning seat vacated by Rep. Mark Green in July, will hold its special election on December 2.
In Arizona, Adelita Grijalva benefited from both her family name and endorsements from national progressive figures such as Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, winning over 60% of the primary vote in a five-candidate race this summer. Progressive activist Deja Foxx finished a distant second.
If elected, Grijalva would become Arizona’s first Latina in Congress. She has also pledged to immediately sign a discharge petition initiated by Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The petition, currently one vote shy of passing, calls on the GOP-controlled House to urge the Justice Department to release files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Butierez, who lost to the elder Grijalva in the 2024 general election while Trump narrowly carried Arizona, secured an easy win in this summer’s Republican primary for the special election.
While Trump carried Arizona last year after losing it in 2020, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the 7th District by 23 points.
