Adelita Grijalva becomes the first Latina elected to Congress from Arizona.
Tucson (USA), Sep 24 (EFE) .
Democrat Adelita Grijalva made history Tuesday night by becoming the first Latina woman elected to Congress from the state of Arizona to fill the seat vacated by her father, the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva.
The candidate obtained just over 70% of the votes compared to 27% for her closest opponent, Republican candidate Daniel Butierez, according to preliminary figures from the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office.
Grijalva was the winner of the special election held Tuesday to fill the seat vacated by her father last March after his death from cancer, after holding the position for more than two decades.
Proud of her Mexican roots and of being the granddaughter of a man who was part of the bracero program for Mexican farm workers in the United States, in a previous interview with EFE, the Democrat said she is ready to represent the voice of the immigrant community in Washington.
Grijalva’s victory comes at a critical moment for the Democratic Party, which is seeking to regain control of the House of Representatives during the upcoming November 2026 elections.
The Latina’s election could also be the decisive vote Democrats need to bring an amendment requiring the Department of Justice to release all records related to the Jeffrey Epstein case to a vote.
With the election of Democrat James Walkinshaw in Virginia earlier this month, Democrats obtained 217 of the 218 signatures required to bring the issue to a vote.
During her campaign, Grijalva stated that she would sign the amendment if elected.
The Latina will represent District 7, a traditionally Democratic region with a high percentage of Latino population and that covers part of the border with Mexico.
Grijalva was elected to serve out her father’s term, and if she seeks reelection, she must run in the 2026 general election.
