Adelita Grijalva wins Democratic primary for Arizona US House seat held by her late father

PHOENIX AP Voters in southern Arizona have nominated Democrat Adelita Grijalva to advance to a special general electoral process to replace the late U S Rep Ra l Grijalva in Arizona s th Congressional District Ra l Grijalva who is Adelita s father was one of the majority senior and progressive power brokers on Capitol Hill Daniel Butierez a painting company owner secured the GOP nomination in Tuesday s electoral contest He will face Adelita Grijalva in the special general referendum on Sept Ra l Grijalva s death in March left the seat wide open for the first time in over two decades Grijalva was a champion of environmental protections and reliably went to bat for immigrants and Native American tribes He routinely breezed past GOP challengers in the deep-blue district which stretches across the greater part of the state s confines with Mexico and includes parts of Tucson and nearby counties Adelita Grijalva was among a batch of Democratic hopefuls seeking the nomination in the primary for the th Congressional District seat Grijalva a progressive has explained upholding democracy standing up for immigrant rights and protecting access to Medicaid and Medicare are among her top priorities She racked up a lengthy list of heavyweight endorsements including Democratic U S Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Independent Sen Bernie Sanders and several state and local agents She was up against former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez digital strategist and reproductive rights advocate Deja Foxx Indigenous activist and scholar Jose Malvido Jr and retired strength care executive Patrick Harris Sr Butierez ran among a trio of GOP hopefuls seeking the nomination in the primary for the th District Last year he captured more than one-third of the vote in the electoral process against Ra l Grijalva Off-road bus businessman Jimmy Rodriguez and restaurant owner Jorge Rivas also vied for the GOP bid The seat will not decide control of the U S House but it is one of three vacancies in heavily Democratic districts that when filled in special elections this fall will likely chip away at Republicans slender - majority in the chamber Democrats have a nearly - ratio registration advantage over Republicans in the th District Source