Longtime Tucson politicians Daniel Hernandez and Adelita Grijalva lead in fundraising ahead of next week’s special primary election in Congressional District 7.
The final day for southern Arizonans to nominate a new representative is July 15.
CD7 is a huge district stretching all the way to Yuma in the west and part of Bisbee in the east. It encompasses most of Tucson and even part of the Phoenix metro area. The district spans five counties: Cochise, La Paz, Maricopa, Pima and Yuma.
In the heavily Democratic district, the winner of the primary is expected to easily win the general election and replace the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva, who passed away in March.
Former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez is leading the pack of five candidates in fundraising, with just shy of $1 million as of June 25, according to campaign finance reports.
Hernandez is part of a politically active Tucson family — two of his sisters are state lawmakers.
On July 3, Hernandez said on social media that he’s cleared the $1 million mark.
Close behind is Adeilta Grijalva, the late congressman's daughter and former Pima County supervisor, with just over $830,000 raised as of June 25. Grijalva also posted a social media update last week announcing she’s since gotten to $950,000 raised.
In third place is Gen Z activist Deja Foxx, with about $600,000. In a press release, Foxx patted herself on the back for acquiring all her funding over three short months without a starting donor list.
Two other candidates in the race, Patrick Harris and Jose Malvido Jr., did not file campaign finance reports.
Last day to request an early ballot
July 7 is the last day to request an early ballot in the special primary election for Congressional District 7.
Registered voters can request an early ballot via the secretary of state’s office or by contacting their county recorder. Voters who are not registered with a political party have to request either a Democratic or a Republican ballot.
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