Democrat Adelita Grijalva easily won the special election for her late father’s House seat and promised to quickly push environmental justice legislation.
Grijalva, 54, beat Republican Daniel Butierez by a wide margin in Arizona’s heavily Democratic 7th District, which includes part of Tucson and a large area of the southern part of the state. With about 13 percent of the vote left to be counted as of Wednesday morning, she led 69 percent to 30 percent.
Tuesday’s special election came six months after her father, Raúl Grijalva, died because of cancer complications. He had represented the constituency for more than two decades, establishing a record as a leading progressive lawmaker and the former chair of the Natural Resources Committee.
“It’s a humbling privilege to represent this beautiful community in Congress, and I promise to never forget who I’m fighting for, a lesson my dad taught me very well,” the younger Grijalva told supporters at a victory party.
