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Adelita Grijalva
Adelita Grijalva (Democratic Party) is a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors in Arizona, representing District 5. She assumed office on January 1, 2021. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Grijalva (Democratic Party) ran in a special election to the U.S. House to represent Arizona's 7th Congressional District. She won in the special general election on September 23, 2025.
Biography
Adelita Grijalva is a life-long Tucsonan. She graduated from Pueblo High School and went on to earn a degree from the University of Arizona. Her professional experience includes serving as the director of Pima County Teen Court, a diversion program for teens.[1]
Elections
2025
See also: Arizona's 7th Congressional District special election, 2025
General election
Special general election for U.S. House Arizona District 7
The following candidates ran in the special general election for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on September 23, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva (D) | 68.7 | 64,041 |
![]() | Daniel Butierez (R) | 29.6 | 27,581 | |
![]() | Eduardo Quintana (G) | 1.1 | 1,041 | |
Richard Grayson (No Labels Party) ![]() | 0.6 | 521 | ||
Avery Block (R) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
![]() | James Rose (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
![]() | Daniel Wood (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
![]() | Jeff Beasley (R) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
Nathaniel Irwin Sr. (No Labels Party) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
David McAllister (R) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
G. Seville Hatch (R) (Write-in) ![]() | 0.0 | 0 | ||
![]() | Trista di Genova (No party preference) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | |
![]() | Cheval Lavers (D) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 |
Total votes: 93,184 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7
Adelita Grijalva defeated Deja Foxx, Daniel Hernandez Jr., Patrick Harris Sr., and Jose Malvido Jr. in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva | 61.5 | 38,679 |
![]() | Deja Foxx | 22.4 | 14,078 | |
![]() | Daniel Hernandez Jr. | 13.6 | 8,541 | |
![]() | Patrick Harris Sr. ![]() | 1.5 | 925 | |
![]() | Jose Malvido Jr. | 1.1 | 687 |
Total votes: 62,910 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Bies (D)
- Victor Longoria (D)
Republican primary election
Special Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7
Daniel Butierez defeated Jorge Rivas and Jimmy Rodriguez in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Daniel Butierez | 60.9 | 11,121 |
![]() | Jorge Rivas | 25.2 | 4,594 | |
![]() | Jimmy Rodriguez | 14.0 | 2,549 |
Total votes: 18,264 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Raul Verdugo (R)
Green primary election
Special Green primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7
Eduardo Quintana defeated Gary Swing in the special Green primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Eduardo Quintana (Write-in) | 95.5 | 42 |
![]() | Gary Swing (Write-in) ![]() | 4.5 | 2 |
Total votes: 44 | ||||
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Libertarian primary election
Special Libertarian primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7
No candidate advanced from the primary.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
Andy Fernandez Jr. (Write-in) | 100.0 | 19 |
Vote totals may be incomplete for this race. | ||||
Total votes: 19 | ||||
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No Labels Party primary election
Special No Labels Party primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7
Richard Grayson advanced from the special No Labels Party primary for U.S. House Arizona District 7 on July 15, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Richard Grayson (Write-in) ![]() | 100.0 | 1 |
Total votes: 1 | ||||
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To qualify for the general election, primary write-in candidates for parties with continued statewide representation had to receive enough votes to meet or exceed the number of nominating petition signatures required to file for the primary.[2] In the 2025 special election, the Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican parties were subject to this rule.[3] Libertarian write-in candidate Andy Fernandez Jr. did not meet the required 376 minimum write-in votes, so he did not advance to the general election.[4]
Primary write-in candidates for recognized parties that did not have continued statewide representation did not need to meet a minimum vote count.[2] Eduardo Quintana (G) and Richard Grayson (No Labels Party) advanced to the general election after receiving the most write-in votes in their primaries.
Endorsements
Grijalva received the following endorsements.
- U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D)
- U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D)
- U.S. Sen Ben Ray Luján (D)
- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Independent)
- U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D)
- U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton (D)
- Frmr. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D)
- Arizona AFL-CIO
- Arizona Education Association
- UFCW 99
- Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC
- EMILY's List
- Moms Demand Action
- Reproductive Freedom For All
- Rural Arizona Action
- Sierra Club
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Pima County, Arizona (2024)
General election
General election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5
Incumbent Adelita Grijalva defeated Val Romero in the general election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva (D) | 73.3 | 54,700 |
![]() | Val Romero (Independent) | 26.2 | 19,524 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 375 |
Total votes: 74,599 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5
Incumbent Adelita Grijalva advanced from the Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on July 30, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva | 99.0 | 19,418 |
Other/Write-in votes | 1.0 | 196 |
Total votes: 19,614 | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Grijalva in this election.
2020
See also: Municipal elections in Pima County, Arizona (2020)
General election
General election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5
Adelita Grijalva defeated Fernando Gonzales in the general election for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva (D) | 73.5 | 56,266 |
![]() | Fernando Gonzales (R) ![]() | 26.3 | 20,179 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 143 |
Total votes: 76,588 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5
Adelita Grijalva defeated Consuelo Hernandez in the Democratic primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva | 67.3 | 18,834 |
![]() | Consuelo Hernandez | 32.4 | 9,066 | |
Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 73 |
Total votes: 27,973 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5
Fernando Gonzales advanced from the Republican primary for Pima County Board of Supervisors District 5 on August 4, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Fernando Gonzales ![]() | 97.7 | 5,237 |
Other/Write-in votes | 2.3 | 122 |
Total votes: 5,359 | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for Tucson Unified School District, At-large (2 seats)
Leila Counts and incumbent Adelita Grijalva defeated Adam Ragan, incumbent Michael Hicks, and Doug Robson in the general election for Tucson Unified School District, At-large on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Leila Counts (Nonpartisan) | 28.0 | 69,982 |
✔ | ![]() | Adelita Grijalva (Nonpartisan) | 25.0 | 62,596 |
![]() | Adam Ragan (Nonpartisan) ![]() | 17.5 | 43,727 | |
Michael Hicks (Nonpartisan) | 17.0 | 42,573 | ||
Doug Robson (Nonpartisan) | 12.2 | 30,560 | ||
Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 936 |
Total votes: 250,374 | ||||
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2014
Incumbents Michael Hicks and Adelita Grijalva faced a wide field of challengers in the November 4, 2014, general election. Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, Debe Campos-Fleenor, Francis Saitta, Rene Bernal and Miguel Cuevas ran to unseat the at-large board members.[5]
Results
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
19.5% | 34,347 | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
16.3% | 28,708 | |
Nonpartisan | Jen Darland | 16% | 28,191 | |
Nonpartisan | Don Cotton | 10.7% | 18,944 | |
Nonpartisan | Debe Campos-Fleenor | 10% | 17,647 | |
Nonpartisan | Betts Putnam-Hidalgo | 9.6% | 16,927 | |
Nonpartisan | Rene Bernal | 8.7% | 15,424 | |
Nonpartisan | Miguel Cuevas | 6.6% | 11,581 | |
Nonpartisan | Francis Saitta | 2.2% | 3,952 | |
Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 585 | |
Total Votes | 176,306 | |||
Source: Pima County Elections, "Official Results," accessed December 30, 2014 |
Funding
As of October 28, 2014, Grijalva had reported $23,844.00 in contributions and $7,360.82 in expenditures according to the Pima County Elections Department, which left her campaign with $16,483.18 on hand.[6]
Endorsements
Grijalva was endorsed by the following:[7]
- Tucson Education Association
- Pima Area Labor Federation
- Communication Workers of America
- American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
- Arizona List
- Planned Parenthood
- Tucson Metro Chamber
2010
Tucson Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
30.9% | 58,142 | |
Nonpartisan | ![]() |
29.5% | 55,512 | |
Nonpartisan | Miguel Ortega, Jr. | 20.7% | 39,001 | |
Nonpartisan | Armand Salese | 18.4% | 34,691 | |
Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 985 | |
Total Votes | 188,331 | |||
Source: Pima County Elections Department, "General Election November 2, 2010, Results," accessed August 29, 2014 |
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Adelita Grijalva did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Grijalva's campaign website stated the following:
“ |
Fight Trump's Economic Chaos
Defend Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security & the Veterans Administration
Promote Affordable Housing
FIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE FOR ALL
FULLY FUND PUBLIC EDUCATION
PROTECT OUR RIGHTS & FREEDOMS
ADVOCATE FOR HUMANE IMMIGRATION POLICIES
Respecting Tribal Sovereignty
People-Centered foreign policy
|
” |
—Adelita Grijalva's campaign website (2025)[9] |
2024
Adelita Grijalva did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Adelita Grijalva did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2014
Grijalva provided the following statement to the Pima County School Superintendent's office in English and Spanish:
“ | Como una tucsonense de toda la vida, estoy dedicada a esta comunidad y a proporcionar a nuestros niños una educación pública de calidad. Estoy orgullosa de haber sido educada en escuelas del TUSD, Pima y Universidad de Arizona. Soy la madre de tres hijos y mis dos hijos en edad escolar asisten a escuelas del TUSD.
La educación pública es el asunto de Derechos Civiles de esta generación. La cambiante demografía de nuestra nación y nuestra ciudad requiere que veamos los remedios e iniciativas con una nueva visión. Debemos de volver a restaurar la confianza en la educación pública porque es la piedra angular de nuestro futuro. La mayoría de los niños son educados en escuelas públicas, por lo tanto, debemos trabajar juntos para renovar y volver a energizar la educación pública para el futuro de esta nación, comenzando con Tucson. Durante los últimos doce años, TUSD ha tenido seis superintendentes, recortes presupuestarios sin precedentes y una legislatura hostil a la educación pública. A pesar de estos retos, hemos tomado decisiones difíciles enfocadas en el progreso: Disminución del tamaño de las clases: En apoyo de los centros escolares, millones de dólares pasaron de la administración central a los centros escolares, lo cual dio como resultado en la disminución del tamaño de las clases y en un aumento del apoyo en los centros escolares. Creación de un Plan Estratégico de 5 años para el TUSD: Con participantes de la comunidad, se creó un plan que dirigirá nuestra visión a largo plazo y ayudará a crear cambios sistemáticos y sostenibles. Tenemos que enfocarnos en nuestros estudiantes, profesorado y familias y al mismo tiempo luchar para asegurar que la educación pública es valorada y en la que se invierte de nuevo a todos los niveles: local, estatal y federal. Apoyo de la Educación de la Primera Infancia: Como madre de un niño en preescolar, conozco, de primera mano, la importancia de la preescolar. Durante mi mandato, TUSD ha más que doblado el número de programas preescolares del TUSD asequibles y de calidad. Dos escuelas previamente cerradas fueron readaptadas como preescolares y tienen un éxito increíble. Yo apoyo programas que proporcionan un maravilloso entorno de aprendizaje y una preparación académica. Apoyo de una Educación Completa: El éxito de los estudiantes requiere más que salas de clase. Si bien hemos ampliado los curso en dos idiomas, aumentado la diversidad de los estudiantes en nivel avanzado y acreditación doble, hay mucho más que hacer. Yo continuaré abogando por la retención de las bibliotecas, asesoramiento, la música y las artes. Creo que también tenemos que aumentar las oportunidades de recuperación de créditos para aquellos estudiantes que se han quedado retrasados. La educación pública es el gran igualador. Sea cual sea el estado socioeconómico, la raza o la etnicidad, cualquier estudiante, a través del esfuerzo y de trabajar duro, puede obtener un diploma de escuela de preparatoria y abrir un mundo de posibilidades. Como resultado de estos cambios, hemos estabilizado la matriculación de estudiantes. Si bien todavía hay trabajo que hacer, tengo confianza en que el futuro del TUSD es brillante.[8] |
” |
—Adelita Grijalva (2014)[7] |
“ | As a lifelong Tucsonan, I am invested in this community and in providing our children a quality public education. I am proud to have been educated in TUSD schools, Pima and University of Arizona. I am a mother of three, and my two school-aged children attend TUSD schools.
Public education is the Civil Rights issue of this generation. The changing demographic of our nation and our city requires that we view remedies and initiatives with new vision. We must rebuild the confidence in public education because it is the keystone to our future. Most children are educated in public schools; therefore, we must work together to renew and reenergize public education for the future of this nation beginning with Tucson. During the past twelve years, TUSD has had six superintendents, unprecedented budget cuts and a legislature hostile to public education. Despite these challenges, we have made tough decisions focused on progress: Decrease Class Size: In support of school sites, millions of dollars out of central administration to school sites occurred, which resulted in decreased class sizes and an increase in support at school sites. Create a 5-year Strategic Plan for TUSD: With community partners, a plan was created that will drive our long-range vision and help build systematic and sustainable changes. We have to focus on our students, faculty and families, and at the same time, fight to ensure public education is again valued and invested in at all levels: local, state and federal. Support of Early Childhood Education: As a parent of a preschool child, I know, firsthand, the importance of preschool. During my term, TUSD has more than doubled the number of affordable and quality TUSD preschool programs. Two previously closed schools were repurposed as preschools and are incredibly successful. I support programs that provide a wonderful learning environment and academic preparation. Support Well-Rounded Education: Student success requires more than classrooms. While we have expanded courses in dual language, increased student diversity in advanced placement and dual credit, there is much more to do. I will continue to advocate for the retention of libraries, counseling, music and arts. I believe we must also increase credit recovery opportunities for our students who have fallen behind. Public education is a great equalizer. Regardless of socioeconomic status, race or ethnicity, any student, through effort and hard work, can earn a high school diploma and open a world of possibilities. As a result of these changes, we have stabilized student enrollment. While there is still work to do, I am confident that TUSD’s future is bright.[8] |
” |
—Adelita Grijalva (2014)[7] |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Candidate U.S. House Arizona District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with Adelita Grijalva," April 29, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arizona State Legislature, "Arizona State Statutes: 16-645. Canvass and return of precinct vote; declaring nominee of party; certificate of nomination; write-in candidates," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Information about Political Parties," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "2025 Congressional District 7 Special Primary and Special General Election Information Important Dates," accessed August 6, 2025
- ↑ Pima County School Superintendent's Office, "Official list of 2014 governing board candidates," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Pima County Elections Department, "Welcome to Campaign Finance Web," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Pima County School Superintendent, GOVERNING BOARD CANDIDATE STATEMENT TUCSON UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1: ADELITA GRIJALVA," accessed September 30, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Adelita Grijalva's campaign website, “Issues,” accessed August 12, 2025