Adelita Grijalva will run for the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ congressional seat that belonged to her father.
Memorial services for U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva were held last week.
“I am running for Congress because Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ deserves bold leadership that will fight for working families and stand up to Donald Trump,†Adelita Grijalva said in a news release that was expected to be formally announced Monday morning. “In Congress, I will work to create opportunities to help all our families achieve their American Dream — no matter who you are, where you come from, or where you live.â€
Grijalva is also expected on Monday to resign from her seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. It would be effective April 4.
“Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their gang of billionaires are destroying our nation. They’re destroying our schools. They’re attacking our most sacred rights. They’re poisoning our environment,†Grijalva said in the announcement obtained by the Star. “But together, we will stop them. This fight starts right here, right now, in Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.â€
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A native ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥an, Grijalva was the first Latina elected to the Pima County Board of Supervisors in 2020, and is the second woman to have served as the board’s chair. She easily won a second term last November with 73% of the vote.
Prior to her 2020 election, Grijalva served for two decades on the governing board of the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Unified School District, first having been elected in 2002. She also served as the director of Pima County Teen Court, a nonprofit diversion program, for over 25 years.
Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat like her father, had previously said she would announce her decision after her father’s funeral services, which took place last week. Raúl Grijalva had been fighting lung cancer for about a year, and his death at age 77 was due to complications from cancer treatments, his office said.
Grijalva seeks to follow her father’s own political ascent to the Capitol. Like her, his political career started at TUSD, continued into the Board of Supervisors and ended in Congress after he beat several political opponents to win a newly created district.
Grijalva’s impending resignation from the Supervisors will set in motion an appointment process to replace her, as occurred when longtime Supervisor Sharon Bronson resigned in late 2023.
The heavily Democratic congressional district is anchored by a chunk of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, but spans much of Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, Yuma and parts of central ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. Of the , more than 110,000 are Democrats, about 54,000 are Republicans and nearly 91,000 are Independent, the Pima County Recorder’s Office said last month.
ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Mayor Regina Romero, who says Grijalva “has the backbone to stand up†against the Trump agenda, will be the campaign’s chair. Romero ended speculation that she’d seek the post soon after Grijalva died.
“Adelita Grijalva is a results-driven leader who fights for good jobs, our children and our environment. She believes that strong public schools and strong unions are important for hard-working families trying to make ends meet,†Romero said in the news release. “She is the leader to meet this moment, which is why I wholeheartedly endorse her campaign to keep a progressive champion in Congress to represent Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥.â€
As of Sunday afternoon, 27 candidates filed statements of interest to run in the special election for Congressional District 7, the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Secretary of State’s office.
That includes 13 Democrats, including former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez; 10 Republicans, including Daniel Butierez, who lost to Raúl Grijalva in the November 2024 election; two Libertarians; one Green Party candidate; and one No Labels Party candidate, according to the office.
The primary election will be on July 15. The general election will be Sept. 23.
Candidates have until April 14 to file to run for the congressional seat and begin collecting nominating signatures. Independent candidates, who only run in the general election, must file by April 14.
The registration deadline to vote in the primary is June 16. Early voting begins June 18.
The deadline to register for the general election is Aug. 25.
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