The Democratic and Republican candidates for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District special election spoke about President Donald Trump and issues facing the district in their first debate on Thursday.
The election will determine who will replace the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva, who passed away earlier this year.
In the majority blue district, his daughter — former Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva — is considered the frontrunner after she handily won the Democratic primary.
Grijalva said in the debate hosted by Arizona PBS (KAET) that another “unapologetic progressive” candidate like her father is what the district wants.
“Based on what they’ve been telling me and based on who turned out to vote, this community wants a progressive unapologetic voice for southern Arizona,” Grijalva said.
Grijalva’s Republican opponent, Daniel Butierez, said if he’s elected, he won’t just be a “rubber stamp” for Trump.
“If there’s something going to happen that’s bad for Arizona, I'm going to stand up against it,” Butierez said.
Butierez said his main concern for the district, which spans most of the Arizona border and includes a portion of Tucson, is homelessness. He said the issue is caused largely by drugs coming into Arizona from Mexico. Butierez said that’s what he’d want to focus on stopping.
Grijalva emphasized the impacts of Trump’s policies, like incoming Medicaid cuts, as something she wants to fight against in Congress.
Both candidates are set to participate in another debate next week hosted by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission.
The special election will be Sept. 23.
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